
Qass DC eg/ 

Book rJB ^^ 



GREAT EUROPEAN CONFLICT. 



FRAA^CO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

CHASSEPOT-MFLE vs. ZUXDA^ADELGEWEHR, 

OR THE 

KEEDLE GJJ'E. 

EEAL CAUSE OF THE STRUGGLE. 



NAME, TITLE, AND YEAR OF ACCESSION OF THE EULEES OF 

THE EUEOPEAN STATES.— KINDS OF GOVEENMENTS.— 

ARMAMENTS, MILITAEY AND NAVAL. 



RHENISH PROVINCES.-STRATEGIC POINTS, 



COMPILED AND AEEANGED FROM THE LATEST EUEOPEAN OFFICIAL 
80TTEOE8 AND STATISTICS. 




A. 



NEW YOEK: 
BIBLE BROTHERS, 432 BROOME STREET. 

1870. 



Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1870, 

By GEO. W. BIBLE, 

In tlie office of the Librarian of Congress, at 

Washington. 



A' 



^<d 



PHEF^OE 



The masses of this country possess very little 
reliable information of the real condition, character, 
and resources of the different European govern- 
ments — especially those of France and Prussia. 

This fact will be readily conceded by those who 
base their opinion upon extensive inquiry and 
observation. Indeed, there are comparatively few 
who are thoroughly acquainted with European facts 
and figures, except those of foreign birth, members 
of the press, officers of the government, and those 
whose peculiar bent has induced them to inves- 
tigate. 

In time of peace this lack of information is 
scarcely felt ; but in time of war, especially a war 
like the present, there is a universal demand for 
all information relating not only to the war itself, 
but also to the politics and history of Europe. 



A 



iv PREFACE. 

To meet this demand, tlie author has collected 
the most important facts relating to France, Prussia, 
and other European powers, and arranged them in 
convenient shape for reference. 

i A twofold object has been kept in view in the 
preparation of this work, viz., to give facts which 
will enable all to judge understandingly of the 
causes of the present war, its probable results, the 
pre^jent situation of Europe, and, at the same time, 
j)resent facts of interest concisely and impartially. 

In a work of this kind, freely interspersed with 
quotations, it would be next to impossible to credit 
each item to its author ; and it is hoped, therefore, 
that a general acknowledgment, with especial ten- 
der of thanks to attaches of the European consulates, 
members of the press, and others, will suffice. 

With, the above explanation, this volume is re- 
spectfully submitted to the public. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGB 

German Fatherland. National Song 10 

French Marsellaise. National Hyiun 12 

Frakco-Prussian War. 1 :-{ 

Casus Belli 14 

Napoleon III.'s Speech to the French Senate 14 

Napoleon III.'s Address to the French People 15 

King Willl\m's Address to the REiCHSTAa IG 

Real Cause of the Struggle 17 

FRANCE AND PRUSSIA COMPARED. 

Population and Numerical Strength op their Armies 17 

"Sinews of War" 17 

War, Material and Quality of Arms 19 

French and Prussian Fleets .' 22 

Zundnadelgewehr vs. St. Chassepot 24 

Zundnadelgewehr or Needle Gun 25 

Chassepot 27 

FRANCE.. 

Portrait op Napoleon III. — Area — Population — Geographical 
Position — Coast Lines — Continental Boundaries — Advanta- 
geous Military Position, etc 31 

Internal Communication — Canals, Public Roads, and Railways 
constructed with reference to Military Movements in time 

of War 32, 33, 34 

Roads converging at Metz 34 

Government, etc 34 

Portrait of Ollivier 

The French Army 1867-'68-'69-'70 35, 38, 39 

Commanders of Corps d' Armee 39 

FRENCH MARSHALS, SERVICES, EJC. 

McMahon, Canrobert, Bazaine, Yaillant, Forey, Randon, Chan- 

garnier, Le Bceuf, Count de Palikao, etc 41, 42, 43, 44 

French Zouaves 44 

French Navy. 46 

Commanders of French Fleet 48 

PRUSSIA. 

Portrait of King William I. — Area — Population — Old Provin- 
ces — New Territory acquired in 1866 48 

govelinment — chamber of deputies — portrait of bismarck — 
King William I., Crown Prince Frederick William, Prince Roy- 
al Frederick Charles — Pui^lic Revenue — Public Djebt, etc. . 42 



6 CONTENTS. 

Prussian (and North German) Army 49, 50 

Corps, Head -quarters, and CoMiiANDERS of Corps 51 

GENERALS OF THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. 

Prince Frederick Charles 51, 52, 53, 54 

Charles Bernard, Baron von Moltke 55 

Albrecht Theodore Emil von Roon 56 

Charles Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld 56, 57 

Charles Frederick von Steinmetz 57, 58 

Navy — Naval Commanders 58, 59 

Great Prussian Naval Station 59, 60 . 

NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION. 

States, Area, Population — Rulers — Governments, etc 61, 62 

Parliament — Federal Constitution 62 

Aemy and Navy 62, 63 

SOUTH GERMAN UNION. 

States, Area, Population — Revenue, Public Debts, Rulers, 
Governments, etc. — Military and other Treaties with North 

German Confederation 63 

Army and Navy 64 

Bavarian and Wurtemberg Armies 64 

The Zollverein 64, 65 

RIVERS OF FRANCE AND GERMANY. 
Rhine 66, 67 

Moselle, Sarre, Main, Neckar, etc 68 

RHENISH PROVINCES AND STRATEGIC POINTS. 

Rhenish Provinces 69, 70, 71, 72 

Coblenz 72, 73 

Kreuzenach 74, 75 

Carlsruhe — Mayence 75 

Thionville, Merzig, Zierck, Saar Louis, Boulay, Treves, Lauter- 

• BOURG 76 

Saarbruck, Forbach, Metz, St. Avold, Luxembourg 77 

BiNGEN, Worms, Mannheim, Neuburg, Landau, etc 18 

HOHENZOLLERNS. 

Frederick William (the Great Elector), Frederick I., Frederick 
William I,, Frederick II. (the Great), Frederick William II., 
Frederick William III., Frederick William IV., King Wil- 
liam 1 79, 80 

Louisa and Napoleon 1 81, 82 

Descendants of Louisa 82, 83 

GERMANY. 

States, Area, Population, Position — Old Germanic Confedera- 
tion, Dissolution of the Diet, War op 1866 83, 84 

North German Confederation, South German Union — German 

National Political Unity 85, 8G 



CONTENTS. 7 

EUROPEAN WARS OF THE CENTURY. p^^^ 

Triple Alliance agaixst France 86, 87, 88 

Battle of Marengo 88, 89 

The New Coalition 89, 90 

Battle of Austerlitz 90, 91 

Kaval Battle of Trafalgar 91, 92 

Prussia arrayed against France 92, 93 

Battle of Jena 93 

The Russian Campaign 93, 94 

The Peninsular Campaigns 94, 95 

The Expedition to Russia 96, 97 

Occupation of Moscow 97 

Reverses in Germany 98 

The Allies in Parts 99 

Napoleon's Return from Elba 1 GO 

Preliminaries op Waterloo 101 

The Battle of Waterloo 102 

The Peace of Paris 104 

The Eastern Question 104, 105 

Danubian Campaign 106 

Before the Crimea , 107 

The German Campaign 108 

Austria and the House op Satoy 110 

European Aspect op the Struggle Ill 

The Campaign in Sardinia 112 

The Victories of June 112, 113 

The Peace of Villa Franca 114 

The Schleswig-Holstein War 115 

Preliminaries of Sadowa - 116 

Thr Seven Days' War 117 

The Peace of Nikolsburg 118 

Treaty of Prague 118 

■ REVIEW OF THE BALANCE OF EUROPE. 

BRITISH EMPIRE. 

Countries, Area, Population, Government, Parliament, Queen 

Victoria, Revenue, National Debt, Army, Navy, etc 119 

RUSSIA. 

States, Possessions, Area, Population, Government, Imperial 
Council, Alexander II., Grand Duke Alexander, Public 
Revenue, Public Debt, Army, Navy, etc 122 

AUSTRIA. 

Cis-Leithan Provinces, Trans-Leithan Provinces, Area, Bounda- 
ries, Population, Government, Parliament, Provincial Diets, 
Public Revenue, Public Debt, Emperor Francis Joseph, 
Venetia and Lombardy, Army, Navy, Army in War of 1866, 
Casualties, etc 124 



S CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

Compromise between Hungary and Austria 127 

Naval and Military Fortresses . 130 

SPAIN. 

Proyinces in - Europe, Dependencies, Area, Population, Depart- 
ments, Communes, Government, Cortes, Deposition and Ab- 
dication of Queen Isabella, Regency, Marshal Serrano, 

Public Revenue, Public Debt, etc 130, 131,1 32 

Army — Generals, etc , ] 32 

Portified Places , 133 

Navy — Naval Changes since 1861, etc 133 

BELGIUM. 

Provinces, Area, Population, Government 134 

Leopold II., Count Philip of Flanders, Princess Maria of Ho- 

henzollern Sigmaringen , 134, 

Revenue, Public Debt 134 

Army and Navy 134, 135 

Belgian Commanders — Lieut .-Gen. Laurent, Mathieu Brialmont. 135 

Lieut.-Gen. Baron Pierre Emmanuel Felix Chazel 136 

HOLLAND. 

Area, Population, Position, Provinces, Dependencies 136 

Governments, States-General, King William III., Revenue, Pub- 
lic Debt, Army, Navy 13t 

LUXEMBURG. 
Grand Duchy 13Y 

Boundaries, Districts, Area, Population, Luxemburg the Capi- 
tal, Government, Present Ruler Prince Henry, Revenue, 
Army, etc -. 138 

ITALY. 

Boundaries, Area, Population, Provinces taken from Austria 

AND THE Papal States . . 138 

Political Division, Government, Parliament, King Yictor Em- 
manuel III., Revenue, Public Debt, Military Strength, 
Sardinian Law of Conscription, Naval Forces, etc 139, 140 

SAN MARINO. 

Boundaries, Area, Population, Government, Rulers, Revenue, 

Army, etc 141 

PONTIFICAL STATES. 

Boundaries, Area, Population, States, Government, Pius IX., 

Papal Revenue, Public Debt, Army, etc 141, 142 

Decree op Papal Infallibility 143 

PORTUGAL. 

Area, Population, Boundaries, Provinces, Colonies, Government, 
Cortes, King Luis I., Revenue, Public Debt, Army, Navy, 
ETC 152, 153 



CONTENTS. 9 

LIECHTENSTEIN. p^ob 

Area, PopuiiATioR, Boundaries, Prince Johannes IL, Revenue, 

Family of Liechtenstein, etc 153 

SWITZERLAND. 

Boundaries, Area, Population, Cantons, Government, Federal 
Council, Council of State, National Council, President of 
the Eepublic, Revenue, Army, etc 154, 155 

DENMARK. 

Area, Population. Boundaries, Dependencies, The Elbe Duchies, 
Government, Diet, Landething, Folkething, King Christian 
IX., Prince Frederick, Revenue, Public Debt, Army, Navy, 
ETC 155, 156 

NORWAY AND SWEDEN. 

Norway — Area, Population, Boundaries, Provinces, Government, 
Storthing, Lagthing, Odesthing, Revenue, Public Debt, 
Army, etc 156,157 

Sweden — Area, Population, Boundaries, Provinces, Revenue, 
Public Debt, Army, Navy, etc. Ejng Charles XY., King 
of Norway and Sweden 157 

TURKEY. 

Area, Possessions, Population, Sultan, Grand Yizier, Govern- 
ment, Council of State, Revenue, Public Debt, Army, Navy, 
States which pay Annual Tribute, etc... 157, 158, 159 

GLIMPSE IN THE FUTURE. 

Motives and Probabilities of the "War — Political Condition op 
France and Prussia — Idees Napoleoniennes and Germany, 
ETC 159, 160, 162 

UNITED STATES NAVY. 

North Atlantic Fleet 162 

South Atlantic Fleet. . , 162 

Mediterranean Fleet 162 

Pacific Fleet 162 

Asiatic Fleet .- 163 

On Special Service 163 

Vessels at the Various Navy Yards. 

Portsmouth, N. H., Navy Yard 163 

Boston Navy Yard 163 

Brookdyn Navy Yard 164 

Philadelphia Navy Yard 1 64 

Washington Navy Yard 164 

Naval Force at Disposal 164 

OUR IMPORTS AND EXPORTS TO FRANCE AND GERMANY. 

Imports 164, 165 

Articles of Import 165 

Exports 166 

Articles of Export. 166 

Shipping — Vessels, Tonnage, etc 167 



10 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 



THE GERMAN'S FATHERLAND. 

DES DEUTSCHEN YATERLAND. 

"Where is the German's fatlierland ? 
Is't Swabia ? Is't the Prussian's land ? 
Is't where the grape glows on the Rhine ? 
Where sea-gulls skim the Baltic's brine ? 
no I more great, more grand 
Must be the German's fatherland I 

Where is the German's fatherland ? 
JBavaria, or the Styrian's land ? 
Is't where the Marser's cattle graze ? 
Is it the Mark where forges blaze ? 
no I more great, more grand 
Must be the German's fatherland! 

Where is the German's fatherland ? 
Westphalia? Pomerania's strand? 
Is't where the sand wafts on the shore ? 
Is't where the Danube's surges roar ? 
no 1 more great, more grand 
Must be the German's fatherland ! 

Where is the German's fatherland ? 
Say how is named that mighty land 1 
Is't Tyrol? Where the Switzers dwell? 
The land and people please me well. 
no ! more great, more grand 
Must be the German's fatherland I 

Where is the German's fatherland? 
Say how is named that mighty land I 
Ah I Austria surely it must be, 
In honors rich and victory. 
no I more great, more grand 
Must be the German's fatherland ! 



THE GERMAN'S FATHERLAND. H 

"WTiere is the German's fatherland ? 
Say how is named that miglity land ? 
Is it the gem which princely guile 
Tore from the German crown erewhUe 1 
no 1 more great, more grand 
Must be the German's fatherland 1 

"Where is the German's fatherland 1 
Name me at length that mighty land ! 
" Where'er resounds the German tongue, 
"Where'er its hymns to God are sung." 
Be this the land, 
Brave German, this thy fatherland I 

There is the German's fatherland, 

"Where oaths are sworn but by the hand, 

"Where faith and truth beam in the eyes, 

A-nd in the heart affection lies. 

Be this the land, 

Brave German, this thy fatherland I 

There is the German's fatherland, 

"Where wrath the Southrou's guile doth brand, 

"Where all are foes whose deeds offend, 

"Where every noble soul's a friend. 

Be this the land, 

All Germany shall be the land! 

All Germany that land shall be, 

"Watch o'er it, God, and grant that we, 

"With German hearts, in deed and thought, 

May love it truly as we ought. 

Be this the land. 

All Germany shall be the land 1 



12 FRxiNCO-PEUSSIAI^ WAR. 



THE CELEBRATED MARSEILLAISE HYMN. 

Ye sons of France, awake to glory, 

Hark, hark what myriads bid you rise; 
Your children, wives, and grandsires hoary, 

Beliold their tears and hear their cries. 
Shall hateful tyrants mischief breeding, 

With hirehng hosts, a ruffian band. 

Affright and desolate the land. 
While peace and liberty lie bleeding I 

To arms, to arms, ye brave ! 

The avenging sword unshcath: 
Marcli on, march on, all hearts resolved 

On victory or death : 
March on, march on, all hearts resolved 

On victory or death. 

Now, now, the dangerous storm is rolling, 

Which treacherous kings confederate raise ; 
The dogs of war, let loose, are howling, 

And lol our walls and cities blaze. 
And shall wo basely view the ruin. 

While lawless force, with guilty stride, 

Spreads desolation far and wide. 
With crimes and blood his hands imbrumg ? 

To arms, etc. 

With luxury and pride surrounded. 

The vile insatiate despots dare. 
Their thirst of gold and power unbounded. 

To mete and vend the light and air. 
Like beasts of burden would they load us ; 

Like gods, would bid their slaves adore ; 

But man is man and who is more ? 
Then shall they longer lash and goad us ? 

To arms, etc. 



liberty ! can man resign thee. 

Once having felt thy generous flame ; 
Can dungeons, bolts, and bars confine thee. 

Or whips thy noble spirit tame ? 
Too long the world has wept, bewailing, 

That falsehood's dagger tyrants wield; 

But freedom is our sword and shield, 
And all their arts are unavailing. 

To arms, etc, 




EMPEROR NAPOLEON III. 



FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 



The absorbing topic of the day, which is now deeply 
agitating the entire civilized world, is the great struggle 
between two of the leading nations of Europe — France and 
Prussia. 

Speculations are innumerable as to the result of the 
contest between these two powerful combatants, and its 
probable effect upon the nations of Europe, and evince the 
vital interest which humanity and civilization have in the 
struggle. 

So much has been written purely of conjectural charac- 
ter concerning the conflict which threatens to spread such 
terrible slaughter and devastation throughout the countries 
engaged, and which may probably end in involving the 
combined powers of Europe in a general war for suprem- 
acy, that in a work of this kind, which deals only in possi- 
bilities, or, rather, facts and statistics, probabilities would 
seem to be out of place ; but there is safety in the assertion 
that the sovereigns likely to be most deeply affected by the 
results of the war are Napoleon III., the Sultan of Turkey, 
and the Pope of Pome ; and that the future ^NTational Unity 
of Germany is involved. 

The duration of the war is dependent upon the numeri- 
cal strength of the powers engaged and their availability of 
the " sinews of war ;" the interests involved ; and the atti- 
tude of the other leading powers. 



14 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 



CASUS BELLI. 

Among the ^nan^L-^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ which have been 
enumerated are : Marshal Prim's tender of the Spanish 
crown to Prince Leopold, of the royal honse of Hoheiizol- 
lern (which numbers in its family the King of Prussia, and 
is allied by marriao:e to most of the Sovereigns of Europe), 
and the refusal of Prussia to accede to the terms dictated 
by France for the withdrawal of his candidacy; the fail- 
ure of the intrigue of the Empress Eugenie to marry her 
niece (the Duchess of Alba) to Prince Leopold ; the recon- 
struction of the Rhenish frontier ; and the fear on the part 
of France of the ultimate establishment of the German 
[N'ational Unity, and the consequent ascendency of Prussia, 
involving the destruction of the equilibrium of Europe — 
termed the " balance of powerT*^ 

Napoleon III. in his speech to the Senate ssljs : — 
Messieurs, — I experience great satisfaction on the eve of 
my departure for the army in being able to thank you for 
the patriotic co-operation you have given my government. 
War is legitimate when it is made with the assent of the 
country and the approbation of its representatives. You 
are right in recalling the words of Montesquieu. The true 
author of a war is not he who declares, but he who renders 
it necessary. We have done all that depended on us to 
avoid it, and I may say that the entire nation in its irresist- 
ible force has dictated our resolutions. I confide to you, 
in partmg, the empress, who wnll call you around her 
should circumstances require. She knows how to fill cour- 
ageously the duty which the position imposes. I take with 
me my son. He will learn in the midst of the army how 
to serve his country. Eesolved to pursue with energy the 



CASUS BELLI. 15 

great mission confided to rae, I have faith in the success 
of our arms, for I know that France is standing behind me, 
and that God protects ns. 

In his address to the French people of July 23d he says : — 

Feenchmen. — There are in the life of a people solemn 
moments when the national honor, violently excited, presses 
itself irresistibl}^, rises above all other interests, and applies 
itself with the single purpose of directing the destinies of 
the nation. One of those decisive hours has now arrived 
for France, Prussia, to whom we have given evidence, 
during and since tlie war of 1866, of the most conciliatory 
disposition, has held our good will of no account, and has 
returned our forbearance by encroachments. She has 
aroused distrust in all quarters, in all quarters necessitating 
exaggerated armaments, and has made of Europe a camp 
where reign disquiet and fear of the morrow. A final mo- 
ment has disclosed the instability of the international un- 
derstanding, and shown the gravity of the situation. In the 
presence of her new pretensions Prussia was made to un- 
derstand our claims. They were evaded and followed with 
contemptuous treatment. Our country manifested profound 
displeasure at this action, and quickly a war cry resounded 
from one end of France- to the other. 

There remains for us nothing but to confide our destinies 
to the chance of arras. We do not make war upon Ger- 
many, whose independence we respect. We pledge our- 
selves that the people composing the great Germanic na- 
tionality shall dispose freely of their destinies. As for us, 
we demand the establishment of a state of things guaran- 
teeing our security and assuring the future. We wish to 
conquer a durable peace, based on the true interests of the 
people, and to assist in abolishing that precarious condition 
of things when all nations are forced to employ their re- 
sources in arming against each other. 



16 FEANCO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 

Tlie glorious flag of France, which we once more unfurl 
in the face of our challengers, is tlie same which has borne 
over Europe the civilizing ideas of our great revolution. 

It represents the same principles ; it will inspire the same 
devotion. Frenchmen, I go to place myself at the bead of 
that valiant army, which is animated by love of country 
and devotion to duty. That army knows its worth, for it 
has seen victory follow its footsteps in the four quarters of 
the globe. I take with me my son. Despite his tender 
years he knows the duty his name imposes upon him, and 
he is proud to bear his part in the dangers of those who 
light for our country. May God bless our efforts. A great 
people defending a just cause is invincible. 

ISTapoleon. 

King William I., on opening the session of the Eeicli- 
stag, or North German Parliament, on July 20th, said : — 

" He had no interest in the selection of the Prince of 
HohenzoUern for the Spanish throne, except that it might 
bring peace to a friendly people. It had nevertheless fur- 
nished the Emperor of the French with a pretext for war 
unknown to diplomacy, and, scorning peace, he had indulg- 
ed in language to Germany which could only have been 
prompted by a miscalculation of her strength. Germany 
was powerful enough to resent such language and repel 
such violence. He said so in all reverence, knowing that 
the event was in God's hands. He had fully weighed the 
responsibility which rested on the man who drives into war 
and havoc two great and tranquil nations, yearning for 
peace and the enjoyment of the common blessings of Chris- 
tian civilization and prosperity, and for contests more salu- 
tary than those of blood. Those who rule France have' 
shrewdly studied the proper methods of hitting the sensitive 
pride of that great neighbor nation, and, to promote selfish 
interests, have misguided it." 



FKANOE Al^D PRUSSIA COMPARED. 17 

'' Tlien," concluded the king, '' as our fathers before us 
have done, let us fight for our liberty and rights against the 
wrongs inflicted by a foreign conqueror ; and as He was 
with our fathers, so God will be with us in a struggle, 
without which Europe can never enjoy lasting peace." 



EEAL CAUSE OF THE STRUGGLE. 

The apparent causes of the war are too trivial to be 
seriously discussed. A misunderstanding about the Span- 
ish succession, a hasty word from the King of Prussia, or a 
mere act of petulance by Louis Napoleon, could never pre- 
cipitate a contest between two nations like France and 
Germany. 

The possession of the Rhine frontier may be summed up 
as the true cause of the war. But this frontier carries with 
it the mastery of Central Europe. It belongs to Germany 
by right and by actual possession. It has been won by 
France repeatedly during the last two centuries, but it has 
always been wrested back from her grasp. But France 
sighs for the boundaries of the times of the Grand Monarch, 
Louis the Fourteenth, and the First ISTapoleon, and if tlie 
present French emperor can minister to the vanity of the 
people in this respect, he may safely reckon on transmitting 
his crown to his son. For Prussia, or rather for Germany, 
the loss of the Rhine frontier would be political ruin. 
The German people comprehend this fact, and they will 
resist the aggressions of France to the bitter end. 



FRANCE AND PEUSSIA OOMPAEED. ^ 

POPULATION AND NUMERICAL STRENGTH OF THE ARMIES. 

France has a population of thirty-eight millions. That 
of the Xorth German Confederation, consisting of Prussia, 
with the annexed States of Hanover. Hesse-Cassel Scliles- 



IS FRANCO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 

wig-IIolstein, ^N'assan, and Frankfort, and the Grerman 
States north of tlie river Main, amounts to nearly thirty-one 
millions. The South German States, excluding Austria, 
number nine millions. Thus the balance in point of popula- 
tion is slightly in favor of Germany. The French navy, 
with its fifty-five iron-clads and their 1,032 guns, against 
the Prussian navy, with but four such vessels and their lifty 
guns, and similar disparity in other classes of war steamers, 
is indisputably superior. But although since the unex- 
pected victory of Prussia in 1866 the efHciency of the French 
army as well as that of the French navy has been steadily 
increased, and the effective force of the army, w^ith the re- 
serve, has been brought up to eight hundred thousand, a 
number larger by two hundred and sixty-three thousand 
than it had at the commencement of the Crimean war, yet 
the Prussian army has also been steadily increased, until it 
contains six hundred and fifteen thousand, of whom four 
hundred and fifty thousand are in active service, while the 
reserve of Prussia, consisting of the entire male population 
of suitable age, will enable her to bring into the field, for 
a defensive campaign, a full million of thoroughly drilled 
soldiers. Thus, in a military point of view, France and the 
E'orth German Confederacy seem to be not very unequally 
matched. 



The famous war-treasure of the King of Prussia amounts, 
with accumulated interest, to two hundred millions, and 
the government has about the same amount in its coffers. 
"What renders the wealth of France great is its elasticity. 
There are thirteen hundred millions of specie now in the 
Bank of France. The Bank of France can advance five 
hundred millions to the government against an emission of 
treasury notes. Prussia can raise about a quarter of this 
sum. At the time of the Exhibition of 1867, a celebrated 



i \ 



FRANCE AND PRUSSIA COMPARED. 19 

English calculator drew up a table by which the respective 
wealth of nations could be seen at a glance, and an extract 
from it will not be without interest here. 

By putting the finances of England at par — 

France represented 86 per cent. 

Holland represented 71 per cent. 

Belgium represented 63 per cent. 

Switzerland represented 47 per cent. 

Bavaria represented 38 per cent. 

Baden represented 32 per cent. 

Prussia represented 17 per cent. 

So that the wealth of France is to that of England as 86 
is to 100 ; the wealth of France is to that of Prussia as 86 
is to 17. 

WAR MATERIAL AND QUALITY OF ARMS. 

Let ns place Prussia and France face to face. On this 
side of the Phine and on the other, the number of men 
ready to enter in campaign is about equal. Prussia has her 
needle-gun — an excellent arm, France has her chassepot, 
and one tried at Mentana. Prussia has her field artillery 
and mitrailleuses, on which she very justly counts ; but 
France too, has her mitrailleuses and her field artillery. 
For seven yeai-s has France steadily improved and perfected 
her famous mitrailleuses, and has multiplied them so that 
to-day there is not a battalion of infantry or sharp-shooters 
which has not at least two in its ranks. The Prussian ar- 
senals are gorged. The French arsenals are full to over- 
flowing. Since the campaign of 1866, Prussia has spent 
110 millions in renewing and modernizing its war material, 
much of it, however, being used in the war crowned by 
Sadowa. France has spent 210 millions on her military 
stores — camping equipments, provisions, drugs, ambulances, 
in a word, all the accessories of the grand theater of war, 
have been stored in the Invalides and the Ecole Militaire. 



20 rRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

The mitrailleuses themselves are not the latest thing out 
of the supreme refinement of the destroying art. The 
mitrailleuses only are known to the public, but it appears 
that France has better than this, although the public may not 
be aware of it. But a short time since people began to talk 

of engines of war, not yet named, of the Commander C • 

M . These, to believe the report of one who wit- 
nessed recent experiments with them, constitute something 
miraculous in destructive inventions. Their extreme range 
is 3,000 yards only, which is the mean range of the mitrail- 
leuses, their elder sisters, but these new and formidable in- 
ventions surpass them in massacring power as much as the 
mitrailleuses themselves surpassed every thing which had 
preceded them. At 2,500 yards the effect of these engines, 
which have been temporarily baptized " les filles du com- 
TYiandant C, M.^'' is so terrible, so certain, that a single 
regiment could force its way with them throngh an army, 
sowing death and terror before it. But, the reader may 
say beyond the number and courage of the army, be- 
yond the armament, beyond the engines of war, beyond 
stores, there is the question of the sinews of war — m.oney, 
to which we have already adverted. The new mitrailleuse 
above referred to under the curious title of " lesfiUes dri 
commandant C. J/.," is now creating immense curiosity in 
Europe. This arm was invented two years ago, and exper- 
iments with the first model were made with the greatest 
secrecy at Yincennes and Men don. To prevent spies ob- 
taining information, or getting a glimpse of the gun, or 
rather mitrailleuse, a cordon of troops surrounded the place 
where the experiments were being carried on, out of view 
of the inventor and the gentlemen forming the commission 
appointed by the emperor to test the merits of the arm, 
with orders to allow no one to pass. The arm when 
approved was manufactured in the Yosges, the same sur- 
veillance and caution being observed. As soon as the guns 



FKANCE AKD PEUSSIA COMPARED. 21 

were ready they were packed in boxes, wliich were sealed 
and sent to the various arsenals. No instructions were 
given in its use until the eve of the war, when four men in 
each regiment were conducted secretly to a convenient spot 
and taught how to inaneuver it. A gentleman employed on 
the commission above referred to states that all he would 
vouchsafe to divulge on the subject of the arm is that it is 
on the Gratlin principle of small caliber, and is used to 
repel cavalry charges and attacks in column. Like moun- 
tain howitzers it has no carriage, and is carried by two 
men, who hold it when fired, there being little or no recoil. 
This arm must not be confounded with the ordinary mitrail- 
leuse or Gatlin gun, which is mounted on a carriage, nor 
must it be supposed that it possesses equal powers of 
destruction. While the former can be used by placing it 
on the sides of a square, or at intervals along a column, to 
repel cavalry or an advance in columns, the latter can be 
used as a field battery, and with deadly efiect. The range 
too, of the two engines of war is different. The sphinx has 
only a range, as will have been observed, of 3,000 yards, 
while the mitrailleuse fi'ojyreinent dite can be used at from 
4,500 to 5,000 yards. To give an idea, however, of the 
deadly execution of the new mitrailleuse we cite the result 
of experiments made with it at Satory a short time back. 
Three hundred old cavalry horses w^ere packed in a field at 
a distance of 1,200 metres from the gun, and three minutes 
after the order had been given to " turn the cofiee-mill " 
not one remained standing. The next day the experiment 
was repeated under better auspices, as the gunner had been 
drilled to perfection in the use of the arm. Five hundred 
horses were this time operated on, and in ninety seconds 
they were lying dead on the field. 

The truth is that as an engine of war in any thing ap- 
proaching a general action the Prussian mitrailleuse is con- 
sidered by the Germans as practically useless. This 



22 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

prejudice enables the gentlemen of the rive droite to turn 
up their noses a the Erench adaptation of Gatlin's system. 

THE FRENCH AND PRUSSIAN FLEETS COMPARED. 

The iron-clad squadron of Prussia comprises the celebra- 
ted King William, the Prince William, the Prince Carl, and 
the Prince Adalbert : the first-named is the most formidable 
iron-clad afloat except the Hercules ; the two next are first- 
class iron-clads, and the last is a powerful, swift little armor- 
clad gun-boat, carrying two very heavy guns of Krupp's 
steel. The King William deserves more than a jDassing 
notice. She was designed by Mr. Reed, and built at the 
Thames Ironworks for the Turkish government. When 
she was finished the sultan could not aflFord to pay for her, 
so she was offered at the same price to the then Board of 
Admiralty, who declined to buy her, and Prussia at once 
came forward and offered £30,000 more. When Prussia 
had got her, the English Board of Admiralty saw their mis- 
take, and tried to outbid Prussia, but it was then too late. 
This vessel has a speed of 14 knots, carries 8-incli armor, 
and has 28 guns — four 100-pounders and twenty-four 
300-pounders. The King William is, in fact, not a 
vessel, but a little fleet in herself. Being very long, she 
is not handy or very easy to turn, and is therefore liable 
to the danger of being "rammed." If she cau avoid 
this she would be an overmatch for four Continental 
iron-clads. The King William is the flag- ship. Four 
French vessels of the Flandre's class would have quite 
enough to do to take the King William alone, to say 
nothing of her two powerful consorts and the armored 
gun-boat. In the Baltic the Prussian squadron will join 
with six other Prussian gun-boats, all of which are heavily 
armored, carrying two of Krupp's monstrous guns, and have 
a high rate of speed. The other vessels of the Prussian 
navy are wooden frigates and corvettes, which would 



FEANCE AND PRUSSIA COMPARED. 23 

be of small account as cruisers, and could never attempt to 
keep the sea. 

The French have now on their list of iron-clads 51 
vessels; 45 of these are finished and at sea; 6 are building, 
and not likely to be finished within the next two years. 
Of these vessels, no fewer than 36 are wooden vessels, 
razeed, and plated with armor ; only 11 are built entirely 
of iron ; only 1, the Marengo, is composite, with a frame 
of iron, and sides of wood coated with armor. The 
most costly French-built vessel is the Couronne, which 
cost for hull and fittings, £191,000. The most costly in 
the whole fleet, is the Rochambeau (late Dunderberg), 
which the French bought from the United States in 
1867, paying £480,000 for her. With the Dunderberg 
came also the Onondaga, which was cheap at £80,000. 
The three most formidable vessels which the French 
have ever planned, are tlie Colbert, Trident, and Riche- 
lieu, which were begun last December at Toulon. The 
first two are sister ships of 8,314 tons, 320 feet long, 
coated with 8-inch armor, and intended at present to carry 
30 ponderous guns. The Richelieu is to be of the same 
length and armor, but of 7,180 tons. These vessels will be 
larger than any iron-clads ever yet projected. The Yicto- 
rieuse, another great iron-clad of more than 4,000 tons, 
figures in the French list, but this has only been ordered, 
and not yet begun. La Gallissoniere, too, is very backward 
in its progress, and will take more than another year to 
finish. 

Of the French fleet, 11 are under 1,200 tons, 14 under 
3,000, and 14 over 3,000 but under 5,000. Taking the mean 
average of the speed of all on trial trips, it gives scarcely 10 
knots the highest, the Marengo giving only 14.5, and some 
as low as 7 knots. The average armor plating of the French 
vessels is 5^ inches, ranging from 4 inches to S|- inches. The 
thickest armor, however, is a mere belt above and below 



24: FKAiTCO-PRUSSIAl^ WAR 

the water line, and none of the French vessels have the 
powerful armored bulkhead across the stem and stern to 
save them from the raking fire, under which they would 
fall easy victims to an active enemy. The greatest weight 
of armor which the largest class of French vessels carry is 
1,800 tons, and the smallest, 279 tons, and their greatest 
number of guns is 14. 



ZUNDIADELGEWEHR vs. ST. OHASSEPOT. 

YiRGiL was right in supposing that some place was due to 
"arms "in his famous ballad. "Arms and the man," he 
sang ; but had he known what an arm of precision it was, or 
could he have hoped to M^QihQ zimdnadelgewehr in a hexam- 
eter, the praises of ^neas would have been sounded less, 
and dactylic measures would have indicated the rapidity of 
the chassepot — the chassepot which " did wonders at Men- 
tana." Some attention is due, in the study of modern war- 
fare, to these weapons, seeing that it is on their use and 
merit that victory may depend. 

Providence, that was on the side of the heaviest battal- 
ions in the days of the first J^apoleon, is on that of the 
arm of precision and rapidity in those of Frederick William 
and the third Bonaparte. This was the story and the 
moral of the late Prusso- Austrian war. It was taught and 
read on the field of Sadowa, and Custozza had been a 
Sadowa, if the Italian allies of Prussia had had the Prussian 
weapon. It was the story of the Italian war where rifled 
cannon mowed down the Austrian white coats. It was the 
moral of Mentana, where Garibaldians afforded a satisfac- 
tory target and a rational test for the French chassepot. 
It was a knowledge of the superiority of the Prussian 
weapon that kept France back when the black eagle 
Bwooped down and carried crowns to its aerie, and tore the 



ZUNDNADELGEWEHR vs. ST. CHASSEPOT. 25 

title-deeds of Central Europe into shreds. In truth, Prov- 
idence is on the side of the army that has a weapon which 
in rapidity makes one man equal to six, and in accuracy 
each of these six ahnost equal to half a score. This is a 
scientific and hardly a muscular age, and the providence of 
the Little Corporal's conceit is to-day a scientific providence 
which despises a Croat or a Cossack, and has a mighty 
reverence for a snider or a chassepot. 

In this new war the chassepot and the Prussian breech- 
loader will be fairly tried against each other. But each. 
foe brings into the fight new weapons which will complete 
the test. There is the French mitrailleuse, which, it is said, 
can rain bullets like hail ; there is also the Prussian hugd- 
spitz€'h'^ which showers conical shot. Whether hail or con- 
ical shot will carry the day it is impossible to say ; but it is 
noticeable that the war of the nineteenth century is trans- 
ferred to the artisan's shop, and that diplomacy and " tented 
fields " are but agencies and instruments wherewith is 
obtained a trial of the inventive genius of bellicose nations. 

THE ZUNDNADELaEWEHE OR THE NEEDLE-GUN. 

The Prussian needle-gun is the invention of Mr. Dreyse, 
a manufacturer of arms at Sommerda, wdio spent over 
thirty years in trying to construct a perfect breech-loading 
rifle. The cartridge is inserted at the rear, and the ignition 
is produced by the intrusion of a needle into the fulminate 
attached to the cartridge. The barrel is 36.06 inches long, 
and is rifled with four grooves down, to the breech, where 
the chamber, or bed for the cartridge, is smooth and a 
little larger than the bore. The bed enlarges slightly to 
the rear so as to admit the cartridge freely, and the lower 
part of the bore for a distance of 6.17 inches is enlarged so 
that the ball is gradually compressed into grooves. The 
rear of the barrel is conical, and is called the mouth-piece. 
Over this part there is a six-sided cylinder, which holds all 



26 FKANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

the mechanism of the piece. The air-chamber, next to tho 
cylinder, has the needle pipe screwed into its breech. 

The gun is loaded in this way : After it has been brought 
to a nearly horizontal position, with the butt resting on the 
right hip, and tlie left hand at the lower band, and the 
chamber drawn back from the mouthpiece, the car- 
tridge is inserted through the opening in the cylinder into 
its place, the chamber again brought up to the mouth-piece 
by means of the handle, and turned to the right. The 
locket is shoved up, and the notch of the mainspring en- 
gages the catch at the inner rear end of the chamber. At 
the same time the middle offset of the needle-bolt is pressed 
against the trigger-stop, thus compressing the spiral spring. 

'Now let the trigger-stop be drawn down by pressure on 
the trigger so as to clear the offset of the needle-bolt. 
The bolt will dart forward from the effect of the spring, and 
will strike the square end of the needle-pipe, which projects 
sufficiently to pass through the powder of the charge and 
inflame the fulminate. 

At the time of the adoption of this new gun the cartridge 
was altered, the sabot being enlarged and placed between 
the powder and the ball. 

The ball is spherio-conical. The charge of powder is 60 
grains. The weight of the Prussian needle-gun is 10.27 
pounds to 11.3. The mechanism can be taken apart with- 
out screw-driver, vise, etc. It can be safely and easily 
cleaned, and the gun being small, is particularly adapted 
for use in the contracted space of loop-holes, on horseback, 
etc. The objections to the Prussian needle-gun are the 
danger of a weakening of the spiral spring and the possi- 
bility that the needle may not be propelled with sufficient 
force to pierce the cartridge. On account of the ease and 
rapidity with w^iich it is loaded, there is also danger of a 
waste of ammunition, as the soldier, in the heat of battle, 
will often fire his piece as fast as possible, even when he 



ZUNDNADELGEWEIIR vs. ST. OIIASSEPOT. 27 

knows the firing has no efi*ect. To make the best use of the 
needle-gun the soldier requires special training. The Prus- 
sian army is verj well trained to its use, and in this respect 
lias an advantage over the French, Vvho have never been 
into a great battle with their chassepot. 

The range of the needle-gun is from 1,400 to 2,000 yards. 

The gun is never loaded or reloaded while at " aim," 
simply because it is impossible to do so. 

The powder is not ignited at the rear end of the cartridge, 
but next to the ball, where the igniting matter is placed in 
a kind of socket of papier mache ; and this is what gives 
more power to the ball, the pow^der burning from the* front 
to the rear. 

The cartridge is made up — ball in front, ball socket with 
igniting matter and powder. The shape of the ball resem- 
bles that of a cucumber, and is called long lead {J^ang hlei). 

The recoil of the gun is only felt when it becomes very 
much heated, and the air chambers are filled with there- 
fuse of powder. When clean no recoil is felt at all. 

In case the needle should break, or bend, or otherwise be- 
come useless, a new one can be inserted in less than five 
seconds. Each soldier carries an extra supply of about six 
needles. 

The Prussian army has but one caliber for all small- 
arms, so that infantry, or sharp-shooters can be supplied 
with cartridges from any cavalry pistol or carbine cartridge 



THE CHASSBPOT. 

The fire-arm which has been adopted by the French army 
is the celebrated chassepot rifie, which is probably the most 
efiicient weapon ever put into the hands of an army of in- 
fantry. It resembles the Prussian needle-gun, but pos- 
sesses several improvements. During the late war between 
Prussia and Austria, the effective work of the newly-in- 



28 rPvANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

vented needle-gun attracted the notice of all fighting nations, 
and the French, anticipating that they would some time be 
called upon to figlit Prussia, immediately set to work to 
invent a weapon that should surpass the needle-gun in its 
power as an engine of war. The result was the invention 
by M. Chassepot, after long and careful study, having the 
Prussian gun to aid him and to improve upon. After the 
new rifle had been tested over and over again, the attention 
of the emperor was invited to it, and it was not long before 
he was convinced o:Sits superiority, and ordered its adoption 
in the army. 

One of the principal improvements which the chassepot 
has over the needle-gun of Prussia is, that its movement is 
simpler, and instead of being tightly inclosed in the breach 
by a cylinder, it is almost fully exposed, and the employ- 
ment of india-rubber as an obturator. It is said that the 
Prussian gun, after it has been discharged several times in 
quick succession, becomes hot and damp in the chamber, 
owing to the inability of the gas, which comes back after 
the explosion of the cartridge, to escape. The inside soon 
becomes dirty, and the soldier is required to take his piece 
apart and clean it. The French gun is always open, and 
while there is no gas shut up in the chamber to corrode the 
metal, it can in a moment be cleansed from dirt or rust, 
and the soldier is always able to quickly discover any acci- 
dent to his rifle. 

An opening on the right-hand side of the chamber is for 
the insertion of the cartridge. This chamber is filled by 
a movable cylinder, which may be moved back or for- 
ward by the handle ; a cylinder surrounds the shaft and 
a car revolves around the ram. It contains the spiing by 
which the needle is propelled. The rear-end of the shaft is 
made in the sliape of a handle ; the spring is compressed 
when the handle is drawn back. The shoulder on the shaft 
comes in contact with the cylinder^when the arm is at rest. 



ZUNDNADELGEWEHR vs. ST. CHASSEPOT. 29 

When loaded and ready for firing, the two parts are drawn 
asunder. The shaft also serves to protect the needle, which 
is surrounded by the same, and is forced out of the front 
end of the shaft as soon as the trigger is pulled. After the 
cartridge has been inserted the knob is pressed forward, and 
is then laid over to the right-hand side. The aperture is 
now closed. By the first of these two movements tlie cylin- 
der is moved forward, thereby forcing the cartridge into tho 
breech ; the second movement secures the cylinder, so that 
it can be thrown back by the force of the explosion. The 
pulling the trigger releases the spiral spring, which then 
forces the needle through the percussion wafer. 

It is claimed that this gun is not so easily clogged as the 
Prussian needle-gun, and is more substantially built. 

The chassepot is handled in the following manner: 
While loading, hold the gun in the left hand, with the butt- 
end resting on the left hip. The lever is then turned with 
but one movement, from right to left, and with another 
pulled back, after which the cartridge is inserted into the 
opening thus effected. By a third movement— pushing 
back the lever into its original position — the gun becomes 
ready to be fired off. The projectile is a rather long slug, 
with the end rounded and pointed like our rifie ball. The 
charge, which is attached to it in a paper covering, is com- 
posed of a peculiar powder, especially manufactured for the 
purpose. The distance at which this gun carries with cer- 
tainty is very considerable — over 1,000 metres. Both the 
infantry and the chasseurs have only the one model, but 
the bayonets differ, in so far as those of the chasseurs are 
sword bayonets. 

The troops sent to save Rome from the Garibaldian 
bands were armed with chassepots when they embarked, 
and exercised with them during the passage to Civita 
Yecchia. A brigade supported the Papal troops. The 
chassepot spoke for the first time at Montana. Its effect 



30 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

was terrible, and the delighted commander of the French 
troops exclaimed, " Le chassepot fait merveilleP In Algeria 
the rapidity of firing and the range of the chassepot again 
did wonders. The powerful tribes Doni-Menia and Beni 
Ghuill were forced to submit within two days, although 
hitherto, surrounded by inundations and thick woods, they 
had occupied an impregnable position. There is little 
doubt that fear of the chassepot, and long, straight streets 
went far toward saving Paris from a revolution at the time 
of the late plebiscite. There is nothing new under the sun. 
Breech-loaders were actually proposed during the time of 
Napoleon I., and that emperor is said to have foreseen and 
understood the advantages which would accrue from their 
introduction some days before his death. In the Musee de 
I'Artillerie there is a revolving matchlock musket, and an 
arm, called VAmusette of Marechal Saxe. In the " Corre- 
spondence de Napoleon I.," is a letter from the Minister of 
Police to the emperor concerning a breech-loader, patented 
by Pauly, a gunmaker of Paris. Pauly received a gra- 
tuity of ten thousand francs, and his system was sub- 
mitted to a military commission. It was rejected as being 
too complicated and unfit for a campaign. From respect 
for M. Pauly the commission kept silence and rejected the 
arm without publishing its defects. The idea of breech- 
loaders, however, was not abandoned, and in 1813-14, a 
manufactory was established at St. Etienne for the fabrica- 
tion of guns and pistols a la Pauly. The result was not 
satisfactory. 



FRANCE. 31 



FEANCE. 

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. 

France is bounded north by the German Ocean and 
Straits of Dover ; northwest by the English Channel ; west 
by the Atlantic Ocean, including that part of it called the 
Bay of Biscay ; south by Spain and the Mediterranean 
Sea ; east, by Italy (Sardinian States), Switzerland, and 
Baden ; and northeast by Rhenish Bavaria, Rhenish Prus- 
sia, Luxembourg, and Belgium. It comprises an area of 
203,241 square miles, divided into 86 Departemcnts^ which 
are subdivided into 363 Arrondissements^ 2S4T Cantons^ 
and 36,843 Communes^ with an aggregate population of 
38,192,094. 

COAST LINES. 

The length of the coast line, without allowing for minor 
indentations, is, along the German Ocean and English 
Channel, 560 miles ; along the Atlantic, 500 miles ; and 
along the Mediterranean, 260 miles ; amounting in the 
aggregate to 1,320 miles. 

CONTINENTAL BOUNDARIES. 

The continental boundaries are formed — on the south- 
west, by the Pyrenees, 250 miles ; on the east, by the Alps, 
155 miles, the Jura, 167 miles, and the Rhine, 100 miles ; and 
on the northeast by an arbitrary line of about 290 miles. 

ADYANTAGEOTIS MILITARY POSITION. 

On taking a survey of this great country, it is impossible 
not to be struck with the advantages which it derives from 
its position. It not only forms a continuous and compact 
whole, but though united to tlie Continent by a line of 
about 900 miles, is so much isolated from it by great natural 



32 FRANCO-PEUSSIAIT WAR. 

boundaries, that the only direction in which it can "be con- 
sidered open to hostile attack is on the northeast, where a 
line of fortresses has made barriers almost as impenetrable 
as those barriers which, in other directions, have been pro- 
vided by nature. -On the north and west a long line of 
coast gives it immediate access to the great ocean thorough- 
fares, and by its harbors in the Mediterranean it exercises 
a commanding influence both in Africa and the East. 

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION-^— CAKALS, PUBLIC EOADS, AND RAIL- 
ROADS CONSTRUCTED, MORE ESPECIALLY WITH REFERENCE 
TO MILITARY MOVEMENTS IN TIME OF WAR. 

Canals, 

The canals of France are numerous, and their object has 
been to connect all the great river basins, and thus give a 
continuous water communication throughout the interior 
and from sea to sea. 

Canal du Midi, or Canal of Languedoc, starting from a 
point on the Garonne, below Toulouse, is con-tinued in an 
east-southeasterly direction into the Lagoon of Thau, and 
thereby gives a continuous water communication between 
the Atlantic and Mediterranean, in the line of the impor- 
tant towns of Bordeaux, Agen, Toulouse, Carcassonne, and 
Karbonne. Three separate canals cut across the basin of the 
Khone : the Canal du Centre, or of Charollais, begins at 
Chalons-sur-Saone and proceeds to Digoin on the Loire ; 
the Khone and Khine Canal, so called from uniting these 
two rivers, partly by the intervention of the Doubs ; and 
the Canal of Burgundy which, proceeding also from the 
Saone, communicates with the Yonne, and through it to 
the Seine. The effect of these three canals is to break 
down the barriers which isolate the basins of the Rhone, 
Loire, Seine, and Ehine, and give navigable access from 
any one of them into the other three. The longest of 
all the canals is that which unites IS" antes with Brest, the 



FRANCE. 33 

chief use of which is to keep open an important channel of 
communication in time of war, when it might otherwise be 
effectually closed by British cruisers. France possesses 86 
canals, having an aggregate length of 2,350 miles. 

Boads. 

The public roads of France are classed as Great Eoads 
{Routes Boyales) and Department Eoads. The former are 
26 in number, having an aggregate length 24,900 miles ; 
the latter 97 in number, with a length of 22,500 miles. 
Besides these, there are a great number of country or by- 
roads (cheviins vicinaux) in all the departments, and es- 
pecially in those on the frontier, adapted to the movements 
of armies. 

Bailways. 

In the construction of railways, France is undoubtedly 
the foremost nation of Euro]:>e. Taking Paris as the center, 
a main trunk proceeds north to Amiens, where it divides 
into two branches, one of which proceeds north to the coast 
at Boulogne, and the other northeast past Lille into Bel- 
gium. A branch from Lille, turning west, ultimately 
throws off two branches, one proceeding to Calais and the 
other to Dunkirk. 

Starting again from Paris, a line runs west-northwest, 
keeping close to the banks of the Seine, until it reaches 
Eouen, when it forks, sending one branch north to Dieppe, 
and the other west to Havre. 

The termini of these roads are Dunkirk, Calais, Bou- 
logne, Dieppe, and Havre. The next great trunk from 
Paris proceeds, with very little deviation, east to Stras- 
bourg, and then almost due south through the left valley of 
the Ehine to Basel. Another trunk, extending south, forks 
soon after quitting Paris: one branch takes a southeast 
course first to Dijon, and thence to Chalons ; the other 

2* 



84 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

branch continues south to Orleans. Here it again forks, 
and sends off two important lines, one south-southeast to 
Bonrges and Nevers, and the other southwest to Tours. 
From Tours a branch goes west-southwest to !N"antes, and 
another south for Bordeaux. From Bordeaux it extends 
along the Garonne, and nearly in line of the Canal du 
Midi to the Mediterranean. A line commences at Mar- 
seilles and proceeds circuitously northeast to Avignon, 
and from there almost due north to the Paris trunk line. 
A branch of tlie Marseilles line leaves it at Beaugaire and 
is carried west to Mmes, where it forks, sending a branch 
north to Alais, where the main line proceeds southwest 
past Montpellier to the port of Cette. These are the prin- 
cipal railway lines of France. 

EOADS CONVERGING AT METZ. 

The only roads leading from France into Prussia con- 
verge at Metz. One of these roads runs parallel with the 
line of the railroad to Luxembourg as far as the little town 
of Thionville, situated on the left bank of the Moselle, and 
heavily fortified. It then branches off in a northerly 
direction, passes through Sierck, another fortified town, 
situated on the Moselle, near the boundary line of Prussia 
and Belgium. Here it enters Prussia, striking Saarburg 
first, and next the town of Treves. Another road from 
Metz enters Germany near Saar-Louis, and proceeds from 
thence in an irregular line to Mayence. These two main 
roads are connected by numerous cross-roads, which offer 
ample ground for the maneuvering of armies. 

GOVERNMENT. 

Since 1789 France has changed its government more fre- 
quently than any civilized nation on tlie globe, having had 
fourteen different constitutions in sixty-five years. The 
first serious check to tlie old despotism was the assemblage 



FRANCE. 35 

of the States General in 1Y89 which framed a constitution 
embracing the idea of a limited monarchy. Iii 1793, it was 
succeeded by a purely democratic constitution, which was 
frequently changed between the years 1795 and 1799. Iii 
1799 Napoleon was chosen First Consul, and under him 
France became an empire, 1804, and continued so, with 
various interruptions, until 1815, when the restoration of 
the Bourbons took place in the person of Louis XYIII. 

The revolution of 1830 placed Louis Philippe on the 
throne. In 1848 another revolution occurred, which 
terminated in a republic, with the Presidency of Louis 
Napoleon. In 1851 Napoleon accomplished his famous 
coTjp d'etat, supported by the army. He dissolved the 
House of Representatives, and proclaimed himself Emperor 
of France, under the title of Na]3oleon III., since which time 
the government has been administered with firmness and 
ability. 

The government now is a limited monarchy, the legis- 
lative power being shared by the Coeps Leg-islatif, which 
consists of two chambers. 

Eevenue (budget of 1869), 1,995,404,666 francs. 

Public Debt (budget of 1868), 12,993,298,000 francs. 

THE ARMY OF FRANCE. 

The many reforms in the French army from the time it 
was considered invincible under the great chieftain. Na- 
poleon I., up to the present dynasty, can not be the subject 
of this inquiry, which looks to recent events only, such as 
the reorganization in 1868 consequent upon Prussia's suc- 
cessful stroke against Austria and the establishment of the 
North German Confederation. The imperial government, 
desirous of maintaining the military rank heretofore occupied 
in Europe, thought necessary to frame a law which would 
enable it to wield an army of 800,000 men, ready in cases 
of emergency, to x3rotect and march beyond the frontiers. 



36 rRANCO-PRUSSIA^ WAR. 

The law of February 1, 1868, respecting recruits for 
the army and the organization of the Garde Mobile, was 
intended to carry out this object. Its principal features 
are those of the law of 1832, but it increases the time of 
service to five years in the ranks and four years in the 
reserve. The military age is twenty-one ; substitutes are 
allowed ; measurement of the height is reduced by one 
centimetre, and the men of the reserve may contract mar- 
riage during the last three years of their service. A mate- 
rial alteration is the grouping of the different categories, 
there having been drawn formerly 23,000 of the first class, 
while the number at present is 63,000 ; the old system giv- 
ing after a period of seven years, 161,000 experienced sol- 
diers and 252,000 of only five months' drill, while with the 
present system, there are obtained 441,000 experienced and 
only 84,000 raw soldiers. 

The real strength of the peace establishment of France, 
is about 400,000 ; to these must be added, in war footing :- 

Nine categories of the second class at 12,000 108,000 

Four categories volunteers, or of those retaken from the 

reserve, at 7,000 28,000 

Four categories reserve first class at 60,000 240,000 

Making a grand total of 176,000 

As the average cost of a soldier in France is 866 francs 
per annum, the war budget will amount to 672,000,000 
and the peace budget to 346,000,000 francs. 

Deducting from the above aggregate 80,000 for gen- 
darmes, arsenals, powder manufactories, etc., 60,000 men 
for Algiers, and 65,000 men for 240 depots in the interior, 
there would be left for active operations at or beyond the 
frontier, a force of 580,000 men. 

Of the 322,000 young men who annually attain the age 
of twenty years, 60,000 are taken for the Garde Mobile. 
This gives 300,000 men for five years. But owing to the 
abolition of many exemptions, the number will be increased 




M. EMILE OLLIVIER. 



FRANCE. 37 

in five years by 200,000 ; making a grand total of 500,000. 
The plan is to form 250 battalions of infantry of 1,600 
men, and 125 batteries of 200 men — a force of no less than 
425,000. 

In order to provide for the cavalry, France in 1867 pur- 
chased 36,000 horses in Germany and Austria. Of these 
14,000 were farmed out to agriculturists, who might work 
them, but are bound, when called upon, to return them in 
good condition within fourteen days. 

The artillery branch, the pride of the First Napoleon, 
counts 169 batteries, with 1,014 guns. The mitrailleuse, or 
revolving ordnance, is said to possess less precision than the 
Gatlin gun, but to excel it in rapid fire. The whole 
number of ordnance manufactured by the government from 
1852 to 1868, was 8,845 of both rifle and smooth bore. In 
the year 1868 the government manufactured 100,000,000 
chassepot cartridges, and the same quantity was furnished 
by priv^ate industry. 

The strength of the French army on the 1st of October, 
1867, was computed at 650,498 men ; of whom 40,000 were 
furloughed; 65,263 were in Algiers; and 226,466 reserve. 

The official returns on the 1st of December, 1868, give 
the active force in the interior as 378,852 ; in Algiers, 
64,531 ; in Italy, 5,328 men. The reserve of 198,546 and 
the Garde Mobile of 381,723 swell the total to 1,028,980, 
From the active force should be deducted, however, 114,430 
men on furlough. 

In April, 1869, Marshal E"eil reported the strength of 
the army to the Senate as follows : Effective force on 
March 1, 330,000, with the requisite number of horses. In 
the event of a war footing it would require the purchase 
of 28,000 horses. JSTo power in Europe could bring its 
forces into the field w^ith the same facility. The whole 
number belonging to the ranks is 400,000, and with well- 
drilled reserves, 662,000. 



38 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN" WAR. 

Tlie imperial decree of March 28, 1868, respecting the 
Garde Mobile has been foUowec by satisfactory results. The 
number of organized battalions was 14:2, batteries 91, and 2 
pioneer bodies, and the force in future would amount to 
2,000 battalions, representing a force of 550,000 men. On 
the 1st of October, 1869, the actual force w^as stated as fol- 
lows :— 

In the Interior 365,179 

In Algiers 63,925 

In the Papal Dominions 5,252 

Total 434,356 

The average number of furloughs was 108,831 

Leaving actually in the ranks , 325,525 

The reserves amounted at the same time to 212,816 

Total 647,172 

An estimate of the strength which France could bring 
readily into the field, leaving the Garde Mobile out of the 
question : — 

The field army, consisting of eight army corps or twenty- 
four divisions, is composed of 216,000 infantry, 27,000 
cavalry, and 600 guns (not including twenty-four batteries 
of six mitrailleuses each), was estimated at 286,400 men. 

Transport 286,400 

The reserve, three army corps, nine divisions 93,600 

Pield troops remaining behind 50,000 

Depots, fortresses, engineers 85,000 

Total 515,000 

To these should be added officers on leave, gendarmes, 
workmen, officials, etc., about 85,000, making a round 
number of 600,000. 

In the second half of a year the above total would be 
increased by the annual levy. 



FRANCE. 39 



THE AEMY ON PEACE AND WAK FOOTING, WITH NUMBER OF 
STAFF, MEN AND HORSES, AND REGIMENTS IN EACH BRANCH 
OF THE SERVICE, AND THE GENERALS COMMANDING THE 
DIFFERENT DISTRICTS IN 1870. 

PEACE rOOTIXG. WAR FOOTING. 

Men. Horses. Men. Horses. 

Staff 1,113 160 1,841 200 

Infantry 252,652 324 515,937 450 

Cavalry 62,798 48,143 100,221 65,000 

Artillery 39,882 16.646 66,132 49,838 

Engineers.. 7,486 884 15,443 1,400 

Gendarmes 24,535 14,769 25,668 15,000 

Troops of the Adminis- 
tration 15,066 5,442 33,365 12,000 

Total 404,192 86,368 758,607 143,888 

The infantry, in the above statement of the army on a 
peace-footing, comprises 124 regiments ; the cavalry 66 
regiments and one squadron, and the artillery 29 regiments. 
These forces are divided into what is known as the active 
army, the army of reserve, and the national guard. The 
active army, as enumerated, amounts to 404,192, the army 
of reserve to 400,000, and the national guard, when fully 
organized, to 53S,Y23 men; making a total of 1,342,915 
soldiers, over whom the following commanders exercise 
authority in their respective districts : Paris, Marshal 
Canrobert; Lille, Count I'Admirault; Nancy, Marshal 
Bazaine ; Lyons, Count de Palikao ; Tours, Coinit Baraguey 
d'Hilliers ; Toulouse, General Goyon ; Algiers, Marshal 
McMahon. 



There are eight army corps. Each army corps is com- 
posed of from three to four divisions of infantry, and from 
six to eight regiments of cavalry. Each division has three 
batteries of artillery, and one company of engineers, and 



40 FKANCO-PRUSSTAN WAR. 

comprises in its total force, from ten to twelve thousand 
men of all arms of the service. 

The tirst corps d'armee is under the command of Marshal 
McMahon, duke de Magenta ; the second corps is com- 
manded by Frossard, General of Division ; the third, by 
Marshal Bazaine ; the fourth, by L'Admirault, General of 
Division ; the 5th, by De Failly, General of Division ; the 
sixth, by Marshal Canrobert ; the seventh, by Felix Douay, 
General of Division. 

The Major-General of the army is Marshal Leboeuf. 
The Assistant Major-Generals are Levren and Jarvas. 

The Commander-in-Chief of the Artillery is General 
Soleille. 

The Commander-in-Chief of the Engineers Coffiiiieres is 
General De Noweck. 

The Army of the Moselle, commanded by Marshal Bazaine, 
is composed of the second, third, and fourth corps, and has 
its several points of head-quarters at Saint Avoid, Metz, and 
Thionville. 

The general head-quarters of the French army is at Lan- 
gres. The emperor assumes the chief command of the 
army, with Marshals Bazaine and McMahon as his subor- 
dinates. 

The reserves are called '^ The Army of Paris." 

The Army of the Rhine, under Marshal McMahon, is 
composed of the first, iifth, and seventh corps. Its head- 
quarter points are now at Strasbourg, Bitsche, and Belfort. 

The corps under General De Failly, lying around Bitche, 
unites the two armies. 

The army reserve is at the camp of Chalons-sur-Marne, 
under command of Marshal Canrobert. It is composed of 
troops of the line, re-enforeed by reserves of every description 
which are called into the French service. 

A battery of mitrailleuses (grapeshot cannon) is attached 
to each corjps d'arr^iee. 



FEANCE. 41 



THE FRENCH MARSHALS — THE NATURE OF THEIR SERVICES 

THE EVENTFUL TERIODS IN THEIR LIVES. 

The African campaigns, wliicli found the first field of 
active military duty for Marshals McMahon, Canrobert, 
Eazaine, Yaillant, Forey, Randon, Changarnier, Le Boeuf, 
and Count de Palikao, and followed the descent on Algiers by 
the French, were caused by an afiront to the French minister. 
A new generation had arisen since the wars of the First 
Empire, and the young soldiers welcomed the field of 
adventure which Africa presented. The French occu- 
pation of Algiers met with little effective opposition from 
the Turks, but it aroused the fierce independent spirit of 
the native tribes, resulting, for a time, on the part of the 
French, in the shedding of rivers of blood and the spending 
of millions of treasure, without securing little more of the 
soil than their own garrisons. In 1831 the ofiicers who are 
now the veterans of the French army, found themselves 
confronted by the daring chieftain, Abd-el-Kader, and for 
seventeen years this extraordinary man defended, with reso- 
lute bravery and masterly skill, his native land against the 
invaders. The nature of the campaigns in which the 
officers named, as well as others destined to be eminent 
before the close of hostilities, may be realized from some of 
the leading incidents. Marshal Chausel was sent, after some 
years of very indecisive fighting, with instructions to crush 
the Emir at one blow, who, on his part, fully alive to all 
that w^as going on, was not slow to meet his enemies. He 
promulgated the most terrible denunciations against all who 
should be found siding with the French, or supplying them 
with provisions; the consequence of which was that the 
French garrisons and outposts were almost starved, and 
could not obtain food except by foray, in which friend and 
foe were treated precisely alike. The Emir mustered up- 
ward of 50,000 men, and by his maneuvers succeeded in 



42 FRANCO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 

postponing the French advance until tlie wet season. It 
was not until ISTovember that the French arrived at Oran, 
on their march against Mascara. Mostacanem and Arzend 
were strong]j garrisoned, and Chausel advanced into the 
enemj's country with 13,000 men. After several days of 
constant lighting, he succeeded in reaching Mascara, and 
avenged himself on Abd-el-Kader by reducing it to a heap 
of ruins. This wretched exploit achieved, the French were 
obliged to retreat again. They next took Tlemcen in Jan- 
uary, 1836, and garrisoned it, and then returned to Oran. 
But although they defeated the Kabyles in a battle, the 
indefatigable Emir harassed their retreat, which they only 
effected after severe losses. This murderous and savage 
mode of warfare, which was no more than a system of forays, 
was without practical result to the French. As soon as the 
army had retired the inhabitants of Tlemcen rose upon the 
Frencli garrison, their convoys were cut off, and General 
Arlanges, the second in command, was ordered to establish 
a fortified camp on the Tafna, for the purpose of covering 
Tlemcen and keej)ing open the communications between 
that post and the districts favorable to the French. In this 
advance he w^as attacked by the Emir and 10,000 Arabs, 
and driven back on his fortified camp, where he was shut 
up and compelled to remain until relieved by Bugeaud at 
the head of 4,000 men. Soon after, Bugeaud gained an 
important victory over the Emir, which for a time repressed 
his efforts against the invaders. In warfare like this, the 
present leading generals in the French army commenced 
their active military career. It was calculated to accustom 
them to the horrors of war, to make them equal to trying 
emergencies, and to render them capable of enduring all 
the fatigue attendant on fighting in a mountainous country, 
and under a burning sun. 

The Crimean campaign next called to the field the 
veterans of the French army. The armies of the allies 



FRANCE. 43 

effected a landing at the Bay of Enpatoria, September 14, 
1854. On their southward march toward Sebastopol they 
encountered the Russian forces, commanded by Prince 
Mentchikoff, on the banks of the Alma. A bloody battle 
was fought September 20, in which the Russians were com- 
pelled to retreat. On September 25, the British forces 
seized Balaklava, and on October 9, the regular siege of the 
the southern portion of Sebastopol commenced, the Rus- 
sians having sunk vessels in the entrance to the harbor, 
and thus rendered the city unassailable by maritime force. 
On October 25, and JSTovember 5, the Russians vainly 
attempted to annihilate the besieging force in the battles 
of Balaklava and Inkermann, but afterward confined them- 
selves mainly to the defense ; their frequent sorties being 
intended more to harass and retard the siege than to relieve 
the place definitely. At Inkermann, where Canrobert won 
special distinction, the Russians lost in killed 3,011, and 
wounded 5,997 ; the English 462 killed, and 2,143 wounded ; 
the French, 389 killed, and 1,337 wounded. Among the 
the sorties which marked the further progress of the siege, 
some assumed almost the character of regular field battles ; 
for instance, an unsuccessful attack of the French upon a 
new redoubt ; their first assault upon the Malakoff' and 
Redan (June 18, 1855), and the battle of the Tchernaya 
(August 16), in which the Russians, numbering 50,000 
infantry and 6,000 cavalry, made a last effort to break the 
aggressive force of the enemy. The trenches having been 
driven so near the Russian defensive works that another 
assault could be ventured, the final bombardment was 
opened September 5, and lasted for three days. On Sep- 
tember 8, the Malakoff and Redan were stormed and taken 
by the allies after a desperate struggle, and the siege was 
virtually ended. In this campaign, the present leading 
French officers first engaged in war on a large scale, con- 
ducted with all the resources which the ablest engineers 



4:4: FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

and inventors could afford, and demanding tlie most des- 
perate valor in order to insure success. 

The Italian war offered the French army employment 
on the historic field of Napoleon's campaigns. The first 
engagement with the Austrian forces was near Montebello, 
where their left wing was defeated. The allies being on 
the point of outflanking their right wing (battles of Pales- 
tro, May 31 and June 1), they recrossed the Ticino, and 
were routed in the great open battle of Magenta, June 4. 
"Without risking a defense of the lines of the Odd a and 
Oglio rivers, they retreated to the line of the Mincio. 
There, in the great battle of Solferino, they were defeated 
June 24, and peace soon followed. This was, with the 
exception of the Mexican campaign, in which Marshal 
Bazaine was conspicuous, the last conflict in which the 
French marshals had an opportunity of engaging in war- 
fare on an extensive scale. 

THE FKENCH ZOIJAVES.^ — THEIR ORGANIZATION AND STYLE OF 

FIGHTING. 

France possesses several special or extra corps entirely 
distinct from the regular army, the national guard, or the 
marines. One of them, and perhaps the most peculiar and 
eccentric, are the zouaves. There are two kinds of zouaves, 
the African, or original zouaves, who, in time of peace, are 
always stationed in Africa, and whose strength there is 
about 12,000 men, and the zouaves imites, or imitation zou- 
aves, who are armed, equipped, and drilled like the original 
corps, but do not possess the same perfection in maneuver- 
ing, etc. These latter are only stationed a part of the time 
in Africa, the greater part they are stationed in various 
parts of France. In their armament the zouaves differ ma- 
terially from the regular infantry, particularly in their bay- 
onets, which have the shape of scythes, and their side-arm, 
which is the Algerian yataghan — that is, the peculiar short- 



FRAN^OE. 45 

sword of the Kabyles ; also, in so far that they prefer to 
use their own private revolvers. No one can become a 
zouave who is not a born Frenchman, and a very large 
number of them are recruited among the Paris loafers and 
ga7iiins. Their drilling comprises, besides the usual mili- 
tary evolutions, gymnastics; and no one can serve among 
them for any length of time who is not an accomplished 
and perfect swimmer, jumper, and climber. Their style 
of fighting differs accordingly from that of the regular 
infantry. They make no bayonet attacks in closed lines, 
but spread themselves out so as to have more room for 
striking about with their bayonet, and enter the enemy's 
lines on the full run with long bounds. 

It is stated, that " one of their eccentricities, is their love 
for cats, and they prefer as pets the large gray and black 
cat of Algeria. The training of these cats is admirable. 
They know not only all the soldiers, but also their four- 
footed comrades belonging to the same battalion, and easily 
pick out their own masters under all circumstances. They 
are very obedient to them, and, not only on the march, but 
also in battle, take up their positions on their knapsacks — 
from which position they participate in the fight according 
to their own peculiar style, by jumping into the face of the 
enemy and scratching and biting in a furious manner. 
During the Crimean war, the wounds in the faces of the 
Russian soldiers from these cats were so serious and 
numerous that they had to establish at Odessa a separate 
ward in the hospital for the better healing of them. 

" In climbing up and attacking a rocky height, the 
zouaves command their cats to the front to lead the way, 
and carefully watching the way the cats take, they follow 
them closely and take advantage of every foothold pointed 
out by their trusty and agile comrades.'' 



46 



FKANCO-PEUSSIAN WAPw. 



NAYY. 

The reorganization of the French navy was ordered by 
the government in 1855, and since that time France has 
paid special attention to its improvement. At the com- 
mencement of this year she had 62 iron-clads, 264 nnar- 
mored screw-steamers, 62 paddle steamers, and 113 sailing 
Yessels. The following gives a statement of the number 
of Yessels of each class, their horse-power, and armament, 
from official retm-ns : — 

Classes of Vessels. No. 

1. Iron-clads: — 

Ships of the hne 2 

Frigates 18 

Corvettes 9 

Coast, guard ships 7 

Floating batteries 15 

Separate floating batteries 11 

Total iron-clads 62 

2. Screw Steamers: — 

Ships of the line , 29 

Frigates , 24 

Corvettes 21 

Avisos 63 

Gun-boats 78 

Transports 47 

Special boats 2 

Total screw steamers 264 

3. Paddle Steamers: — 

Frigates 11 

Corvettes 7 

Avisos 44 

Total paddle steamers 62 

4. Sailing Vessels: — 

Ships of the line 2 

Frigates 11 

Corvettes 7 

Brigs 7 

Transports 26 

Smaller vessels 60 

Total sailing vessels 113 672 

Total War Navy 501 92,597 3,045 



3rse-po\ver. 


Guns. 


1,800 


62 


16,000 


311 


4,100 


106 


3,850 


25 


2,010 


146 


360 


22 


28,120 


672 


16.680 


386 


10,100 


574 


7,940 


15G 


8,975 


172 


1,871 


95 


10,222 


160 


24 


4 


55,812 


1,547 


3,450 


32 


1,870 


18 


3,341 


104 


8,665 


154 




440 


.... 


57 


.... 


25 


.... 


26 


.... 


42 





82 



FRANCE. 47 

The largest iron-clad of the French navy is the Rocham- 
beau, formerly called the Dunderberg, which was sold three 
years ago to the French Government for the sum of 
$2,000,000. The most remarkable among the other iron- 
clads are the Magenta, Solferino, Conronne, Normandie, 
Invincible, and the cnpola-ship Taurean. The Magenta 
and Solferino w^ere built on the same plan, and have wooden 
hulls, with plates varying from four to four and a half 
inches in thickness. Their armament consists of rifled 
breech-loading guns, 100-pounders, furnished with 155 
rounds each. 

The French navy is commanded by 2,218 officers of 
diflerent grades. The sailors, afloat and on shore, num- 
bered 39,346 in 1869, which, together with engineers, 
dockyard laborers, navy surgeons, and others connected 
wdth the force, bring the grand total of men engaged in the 
service of the imperial fleet up to 74,403. On the war foot- 
ing the strength of the navy can be raised to 170,000 men, 
this being the number entered on the lists of the maritime 
conscription. Exclusive of the above are the marines and 
the colonial troops, amounting to 28,623 men. 

The following is the list of the French iron fleet ; those 
wdiich have asterisks prefixed to their names are either just 
begun or have only been ordered : — 



Ships' Namep. Tons. 

Magsnta 6,137 

Solferino 6,691 

Friedland 7,180 

Marengo 7,180 

Ocean 7,180 

Sufferu 7,180 

*Richelieu T, 180 

*Colbert 8,314 

♦Trident 8,3U 

Couronne 5,G82 

Gloire 5,630 

Invincible 5,524 

Normandie 5,636 

Flandre 5,7 11 

Gauloise 5,711 



Ships' Names. Tons. 

Gruyenne 5,711 

Heroine 5,711 

Magnanime 5,711 

Provence 5,711 

Revanche 5,711 

Savoir 5.711 

Surveillante 5,7 1 1 

Valeureuse 5,711 

Belliqucuse 3,347 

Alma 3,400 

A.rmide 3,400 

Atalante 3,400 

*La Gralissonniere 3,400 

*Yictorieuse 4,140 

Montcalm 3,400 



48 



FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 



Ships' names. Tons. 

Jeanne d'Arc 3,400 

Reine Blanche 3,400 

Tlietis 3,400 

Tanreau 2,438 

Belier 3,400 

Boule Dogue 3,400 

Cerbere 3,400 

*Tigre 5,400 

Paixhans 1,539 

Palestro 1,539 

Peiho 1,507 



Ships' Names. Tons. 

Saigon 1,507 

Embuscade 1,222 

Impregnable 1,222 

Protectrice 1,222 

Refuge 1,222 

Arrogante 1,331 

Implacable 1,331 

Opiniatre 1,333 

Rochambeau (late Dunderberg) . 7,000 

Onondaga (two-turret monitor). 2,000 



THE COMMANDERS OF THE FRENCH FLEET. 

Admiral De Lagraien commands the Rhine gun- boats, 
and Admiral Wellaumez the IS^orthern Iron-clad Squadron 
of the French Navy. 



PEUSSIA. 

Prussia comprises an area of 135,662 square miles, with 
a population of 24,043,296, and includes the following 
provinces or states : — 

Old Provinces. Population. 

Prussia 3,090,960 

Posen 1,537,338 

Brandenburg 2,719,775 

Pomerania 1,445,635 

Silesia 3,585,752 

Saxony 2,067,006 

Westphalia 1,707,726 

Rhine Provinces 3,455,356 

Hohenzetllern 64,632 

Jade... I,^i8 

New Territory— acquired in 1866. 

Hanover 1,937,637 

Schleswig-Holstein 981,781 

Cassel and Wiesbaden 1,379,745 

Laurenbvirg 49,978 

Garrisons outside of the kingdom 18,228 

Total population 24,043,296 




KING WILLIAM J. 



PRUSSIA. 49 

Rhenish Prussia has the densest population. 

Berlin, has a population of 102,432 

Breslau, 171,926 

Cologne, 125, 172 

Konigsburg, 106,296 

Tlie government of Prussia is a limited hereditary mon- 
archy, the legislative power being vested in the King and 
two Chambers of Deputies. 

The present ruler, King William I., was born in 1797, 
and was the second son of Frederick William III. When 
his elder brother, King Frederick William lY. became in- 
sane, in 1858, William, then commander-in-chief of the 
Prussian army, was declared regent. His insane brother 
died in 1S61, without issue, and the regent became king, 
under the title of William I. The great events of his reign 
thus far have been the annexation of the Elbe duchies and 
the important campaign which ended in the humiliation of 
Austria. 

His queen, Augusta, is the daughter of the Grand Duke 
of Weimar. 

The only son, and the heir to the throne, is the Crown 
Prince, Frederick William, who was born in 1831. Just 
before his father's elevation to the throne he married the 
eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. 

The Prince Eoyal, Frederick Charles, the nephew of the 
king was born in 1828. 

The Grand Duke of Baden, Prince Frederick, is a son-in- 
law of the King of Prussia, having married, in 1856, the 
Princess Louisa Mary, only daughter of that monarch. 

Public Revenue (according to budget for 1860) is 167,- 
536,944 thalers, and the public debt", 184,208,629 thalers. 

PKUSSIAN (and north OERMAn) ARMY. 

The army on peace footing comprises 319,358 men, and 
on war footing, 977,262 men ; and consists of the guard and 
12 army corps (the latter forms 6 divisions). 

3 



50 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

The (army corps of the) guard embraces 2 divisions of 
infantry of 2 brigades each, and one division of cavalry of 
3 brigades. The 12 army corps have each 2 divisions, ex- 
cept the 11th, which has 8. Each division has two bri- 
gades of infantry and one brigade of cavalry. Altogether 
there are (inclusive of the guard) 13 army corps, 27 divi- 
sions, 54 brigades of infantry, and 28 of cavalry. The 
army of the kingdom of Saxony forms the 12th corps ; that 
of Hesse-Darmstadt the 3d divisson of the 11th corps. 
Total force of the army is as follows :— 

Classification. 

Pfivates and Non-cotntnissioned OflicerB. Peace. War. 

Field troops 287,481 511,826 

Depotdo •••• 180,672 

Garrison do 13,046 265,082 

Officers, Staff, and Military Schools 18,831 19,682 

319,358 977,262 

The field army is composed as follows : — 

Peace. "War. 

Infantry 200,312 371,680 

Cavalry. 54, 05 46, 1 3 7 

Artillery 23,546 41,439 

Pioneers 6,567 8,030 

Train 3,051 44,540 

287,481 511,826 

In time of peace the field army has 804 pieces of ordi- 
nance ; in time of war, 1,272. 

The above force comprises 118 regiments of infantry, 76 
regiments of cavalry, 26 regiments of artillery, 13 bat- 
talions of engineers, and 13 battalions of trains. 

As in the case of France, the military forces of Prussia 
and the North German Confederation may be said to em- 
brace the whole adult male population, exclusive of all 
disabled by age or infirmity. 



PRUSSIA. 51 

The Prussian army is divided into eleven army corps, 
liaving the following commanders : — 

Corps. Head-Quarters. Commanders. 

1 Koningsberg Gen. von Manteufel. 

2 Stettin Prince Fred. William. 

3 Berlin Prince Fred. Charles. 

4 Magdeburg Gen. von Alvensleben. 

5 Posen Gen. De Kirchbach. 

6 Breslau Gen. von Tumpling. 

7 Munster Gen. von Zastrow. 

8 Coblenz Lieut.-Gen. De Gobeen. 

9 Schleswig Lieut.-Gen. von Manstrein. 

10 Hanover Lieut.-Gen. von Voigts-Rhetz. 

11 Cassel Lieut.-Gen. von Plonski. 

Commander-in-chief is King William I. 

General Yon Moltke is chief of staff of the Prussian 
forces. 

The Prince Royal, Prederick "William, commands the 
the left of the Prussian army, Prince Frederick Charles the 
center, and Herwarth von Bittenfeld. the right. 

The defenses of the coast are intrusted to General von 
Falkenstein. 

The staff officers are the same as they were in the war 
against the Austrians in 1866. 

THE GENERALS OF THE PKUSSIAN AEMY. 

The leading general of the Prussian army is, in Prussia, 
regarded as far superior to the Crown Prince, and as the 
equal if not the superior of the veteran von Moltke. 

Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia, 
commander-in-chief of the Prussian army on the Ehine, 
son of Prince Frederick, was born March 20, 1828. He 
is the beloved Charles Alexander, and nephew of the 
king, and a man of such extraordinary military talents 
that he might be safely pronounced a military genius. 
The eyes of the entire German people are now turned 
upon him in unlimited trust and confidence. Like all 



52 FRAN-CO-PPwUSSIAN" WAR. 

Prussian princes, Frederick Charles had to enter the 
Prussian armj when scarcely ten years old, it being consid- 
ered necessary that every descendant of the house of Hohen- 
zollern, no matter what his individual inclination may be, 
should become fully acquainted with the military service 
of his country, and that, whatever career he may ultimately 
follow, he may be called upon at any moment to draw his 
sword for the defense of Fatherland in times of danger. 
With Frederick Charles, however, there was no need of 
compulsion. The warlike spirit of his ancestors animated 
him even in his earliest youth, and induced him to devote 
himself with enthusiasm to his military studies. The result 
of this innate love of every thing connected with the army, 
soon became apparent in the rapid progress which he made 
in the military school of instruction. The study of the life 
and glorious deeds of Frederick the Great filled his leisure 
hours, and it is said that he was on several occasions se- 
verely reprimanded for passing entire nights over the his- 
tory the " Seven Years' War" and the study of the plans of 
battle adopted by that illustrious captain. At the outbreak 
of the first war of Schleswig-Holstein in 1848, he was as- 
signed to the staff of the commander-in-chief of the Prus- 
sian forces. General von Wrangel, when at the battle of 
Schleswig, his impetuosity and his entire disregard of all 
danger, while imperiling his life at every instant, did not 
fail to encourage the troops, and materially aided in se- 
curing the victory to the Prussian eagle. During the cam- 
paign in Baden in 1849, he likewise distinguished himself 
on various occasions. Fifteen years of peace now followed, 
during which the prince resumed his theoretical studies of 
the science of war, made himself familiar with all branches 
of the army, and showed conclusively his superior talent 
for the organization as well as for the skillful disposition 
of large armies. The disregard of treaties by Denmark, 
resulting in a declaration of war against that power by 



PRUSSIA. 53 

Austria and Prussia, the second campaign in Schleswig- 
Holstein was soon entered upon, and although General von 
Wrangel was at first appointed commander-in-chief of the 
combined armies, the command of the Prussian division 
was intrusted to Prince Frederick Charles. December 15, 

1863. He at once recognized the fortified place of Diippel, 
to be one of the greatest Danish strongholds, and a formi- 
dable barrier to the advance of the German armies into 
Danish territory. He therefore decided upon a regular 
siege and investment of the position. The severity of the 
winter in these northern latitudes interfered considerably 
with his operations, and it was not until April, 1864, that 
he thought safe to order first the bombardment and then 
the storming of the fortifications. Twice the assault was 
repulsed with serious slaughter, until at last the intrepid 
commander grasped the flag of the regiment of Royal 
Guards, and, personally leading his troops to a third attack, 
drove the enemy out of his stronghold and gained a decided 
victory, the Danes losing over 5,000 men and 118 pieces of 
artillery. Being defeated in several other important en- 
gagements, the Danes saw the impossibility of further re- 
sistance, and a treaty of peace was signed on October 30, 

1864. At the outbreak of hostilities between Prussia and 
Austria in 1866, Prince Frederick Charles was called to the 
command of the first division of the Prussian army, imme- 
diately marched his troops to the frontier, which he crossed 
on June 23, and in ordering the attack upon the forces of 
the enemy, addressed his men with the words : '' May your 
liearts beat toward God and your fists upon the enemy." 
A succession of splendid victories at Liebenau, Turnan, 
Podol, Miinchengratz, and Gitschin, having forced the 
enemy into the interior of Bohemia, Prince Frederick 
Charles, who knew the Austrians to have occupied a for- 
midable position on the heights beyond the Bistritz, re- 
quested the crown prince, Frederick William, to come to 



54 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

liis assistance with tlie second division of the army, but 
attacked the enemy on the morning of July 3d, without 
awaiting his arrival. The Prussians fought desperately ; 
but the position of the enemy was so well chosen, and their 
artillery so favorably placed, that the prince could not gain 
a decided advantage over them, and it was not until the 
arrival of the second division, under the Crown Prince, that 
the enemy lost ground, retreated under the deadly fire of 
the Prussians, and was finally completely routed, running 
in all directions, and in the wildest confusion. This ended 
the celebrated battle of Sadowa. The enemy was pursued 
from the 5th to the 12th. Briin was taken, and the Prus- 
sian troops found themselves near the capital of Austria, 
ready, at a moment's notice, to march upon Vienna. The 
interference of France, resulting in the treaty of Prague, 
this ever-memorable campaign was at an end, Austria hu- 
miliated, and her former military prestige lost forever. As 
might be anticipated from a man who had taken such a 
conspicuous part in the brilliant achievements of the Prus- 
sian army, our hero, although proud of his troops, and will- 
ingly admitting their superiority over any European army 
which could then be marshaled against them, had never- 
theless become aware of some serious drawbacks and errors 
hitherto overlooked in the organization of the Prussian 
army, and at once concluded to advocate such reforms as 
his experience had convinced him to be absolutely neces- 
sary. Meeting with opposition in high quarters, he is said 
to have resolved to submit his opinions to the approval of 
the highest military authorities, and it is generally believed 
that he is the author of an anonymous pamphlet published 
in Frankfort, which has attracted the greatest attention 
from the government, and has been the cause of the recent 
important reforms in the Prussian army. 

It appears that the views expressed in this publication 
gained the approbation of the chief of stafi*, the renowned 



PRUSSIA. 55 

Charles Bernhardt Baron von Moltke^ 

Bom in Mecklenbnrg-Schwerin, October 26, 1800, who, 
after serving in tlie Danish armj during his earlier youth, 
offered his services to the Prussian government, and was 
appointed second lieutenant in 1822. His superiority as a 
tactician and a strategist was soon fully appreciated, and 
ere long he was appointed to the general staff of the Prus- 
sian army. Here he found an extensive field for the rapid 
development of his extraordinary talents. In 1835 he was 
sent to Constantinople for the instruction and organization 
of the Turkish army, distinguished himself in the cam- 
paign of the Sultan against the Yiceroy of Egypt, and 
returned to Prussia rich in honors and experience. He 
made rapid advances in the army, until he was definitely 
appointed chief of staff in September, 1858, in which posi^ 
tion he has remained up to the present day, and has ren- 
dered such services in his reorganization of "the Prussian 
army, the skillful planning of campaigns and all military 
operations, as can never be overestimated or too well a^^pre- 
ciated. He took part in the war against Denmark in 1864, 
when he distinguished himself beyond precedent. About 
this time he published several works on military science, 
which have been translated into all modern lano^uao-es, and 
have created for him a world-wide reputation. But the 
greatest field for the practical application of his genius, was 
ofiered to him during the campaign of 1866. It is said 
that, not only was he in constant possession of information 
about every movement of the army, but that he never was 
at a loss one single moment how to counteract all his adver- 
saries' operations and turn them to his own advantage. 
His character is as firm as a rock, and, when once engaged 
in the planning of a military movement, nothing can 
detain him from carrying it out, as long as he feels morally 
convinced that he is in the right and there is a chance of 
success. In spite of his advanced years, he is said to be 



56 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN- WAR. 

still very robust, and lias no fear of the fatigues of a cam- 
paign. 

Alhrecht Theodore Emit von Boon, 

Minister of War and Marine, was born in the city of Col- 
berg, April 30, 1803. He received his education in a Prus- 
sian military school, and was afterward assigned as a 
teacher to a similar institution in Berlin. Besides his 
assiduous studies of every thing connected directly with 
military science, he devoted himself especially to the pub- 
lication of his now world-renowned topographical charts, 
and of works on history and geography. In 1831, he 
entered the Prussian army, and advanced step by step until 
he was appointed major-general in 1858, and shortly after- 
ward Minister of War, in which position he applied himself 
diligently to the reorganization of the Prussian army. 
During the preparations for the campaign of 1866, he had 
occasion to prove to what point of perfection the process of 
mobilization had been carried in Prussia, and the number 
of troops, horses, and pieces of artillery, as well as the 
quantity of ammunition and provisions which could be sent 
forward to the theater of war at the shortest notice, are 
really astounding. 

Charles Eherhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld, 

General of Infantry and Commander of the Eighth Army 
Corps, bom September 4, 1796, entered the Prussian army 
at the age of 15, fought at the battle of Leipsic, and took 
part in the invasion of France by the allies in 1814, where he 
served with distinction in several engagements and at the 
siege of Paris. During the second campaign in Schleswig- 
Holstein, in 1864, he achieved one of the most brilliant 
victories over the Danish army, and virtually brought the 
war to a close by taking possession of one of the most 
important positions of the enemy, the island of Alsen. and 



PRUSSIA. 57 

by almost annihilating the troops who were ordered to 
defend the place. The war of 1866 again called him into 
active service. He was assigned to the command of the 
Elbe army, and gave many proofs of his superior talent as 
a military leader and organizer. His participation in the 
battle of Sadowa was a glorious one, and his behavior on 
this and several preceding occasions was such, that he is 
now considered one of the bravest, most skillful and talented 
commanding officers in the Prussian army. 

Charles Frederic von Steinmetz, 

General of Infantry and Commander of the Fifth Army 
Corps, born December 2Y, 1796, was sent to the military 
school at Culm at the age of ten years, and soon showed a 
decided predilection for the army. He was a little over 
sixteen years old when he was ordered to Berlin and assigned 
to the corps of General York. Two years later he received 
his commission as lieutenant, was wounded at the battle of 
Dannigkow, fought with distinction at Konigswartha, 
where a ball took away one of his fingers, while another 
wounded him severely in the thigh. But such was the 
ardor of his warlike temper that, although unable to walk, 
he insisted upon taking part in the battle at Bautzen, in 
May, 1813, on horseback. He fought in France in nearly 
all the engagements of 1814, and entered Paris with the 
armies of the allies. During the long term of peace 
which followed, he studied military science to great advan- 
tage, and after advancing rapidly to the rank of cap- 
tain, he was soon after assigned to the staff. During the 
dispute between Austria and Prussia in 1850, on account of 
the Electorate of Hesse, Yon Steinmetz was ordered to 
Cassel, and afterward appointed commandant of the place. 
Although it was his earnest desire to participate in the 
second campaign in Schleswig-Holstein in 1864, he was 
ordered elsewhere, and had to remain inactive against his 
3* 



58 rRA]!TCO-PRUSSIA:N" WAE. 

wilL During the campaign against Austria, Yon Steinmetz 
commanded the Fifth Army Corps, and vanquished and 
dispersed three different Austrian army corps within the 
almost incredible short space of four days. Here it was 
that the Prussian cavalry, which had been hitherto considered 
inferior to the Austrian, or rather Hungarian horsemen, 
proved that they were not only their equals, but in many 
respects their superiors. His triumphant victory at Skalitz 
against forces of more than twice the numerical strength 
of the corps he commanded, procured for him the name of 
"the Lion of Skalitz." Throughout the entire campaign. 
Yon Steinmetz did not meet with a single reverse, although 
he was often compelled to light with the odds decidedly 
against him. 

NAVY.'^ 

Screw- Steamers^ — Iron-dads, Horse-power. Guns, 

Konig Wilhelm 1150 23 

Prince Priedrich Karl 950 16 

Kron-prinz 800 10 

Arminius , 300 4 

Prince Adalbert 300 3 

Hansa 450 8 

Frigates and Corvettes, 

4 of 400 horse-power 6 guns each = 1600 24 

1 " 400 " 26 " " == 400 26 

2 " 400 " 14 " " = 800 28 
2 " 220 " 17 " " = 440 34 

Gun-loats, 

8 first-class of 80 horse-power 3 guns each = 640 24 

15 second-class 60 " 2 " " == 900 30 

1 Yacht 169 2 

36 Corvettes 720 15 

Total 9619 253 

Sailing Vessels, 

3 Frigates HO 

8 Brigs 40 

3 Schooner-rigged vessels of 2 guns each.. 6 

41 Gun-boats of 2 guns each . . ." 82 

9 Gun-boats of 1 gun " 9 

9619 500 

* The armament of Prussia 0?er se) is not given but in connection with the North-Ger- 
man Confederation. 



PRUSSIA. 59 

The Prussian and J^ortli-Germaii navy is manned by 
2,471 seamen and boys, and officered by 1 admiral, 1 vice- 
admiral, 1 rear-admiral, 27 captains, 44 commanders, and 
133 lieutenants. There are besides 5 companies of marines, 
4 of infantry, and 3 of artillery, numbering 1,200 men. 

The Prussian squadron is under Prince Adalbert, chief 
admiral. 

GKEAT PRUSSIAN NAVAL STATION. 

There are three points of the greatest importance to 
Prussia to be defended along the Atlantic coast : the 
mouth of the Weser, with the opulent city of Bremen and 
its seaport — called Bremerhaven — which is situate about 
half-way between Bremen city and the mouth of the river 
and connected with the city by railroad ; the wealthy city of 
Hamburg — the former queen of the Hansa — is situated west 
of the mouth of the river Elbe, and is up to this day the home 
of Germany's proudest merchant princes, who are the own- 
ers of great fleets of vessels ; and the bay of Jahde is not far 
distant, with its naval station, which is destined by Prussia 
to become her principal marine harbor — in fact, a second 
Cherbourg. 

This spot was originally, and as early as 1811, selected 
by Napoleon I. for a naval station, he being then in posses- 
sion and controlling the whole of that part of the German 
coast, and he had it not only surveyed for that purpose, but 
he had already erected some fortifications when his downfall 
put an end to the scheme. 

Prussia, without a suitable spot of her own, bought this 
same Jahde in 1854, on the strength of the old French sur- 
veys (the only ones then in existence), for the sum of 500,000 
thalers from the Duchy of Oldenburg to which it then be- 
longed. After thorough and exhausting surveys Prussia 
Anally, about four years later (in 1858), commenced to 
build and fortify a marine harbor on the largest scale, and 



60 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

has ever since, and in spite of the greatest difficulties, 
pushed her work forward so that it is now very near com- 
pletion. 

The hasins are large and capahle of floating a fleet of the 
largest iron-clads. The fortifications are extensive, and the 
barracks already built and building will comfortably accom- 
modate a respectable army. Two of the greatest drawbacks 
of this establishment are the want of good water, and the 
circumstance that the ebb tide falls fully twelve feet, thus 
preventing the largest sized men-of-war from entering the 
harbor at all except at high tide. The channel is also dif- 
ficult, but that, in time of war, and as an additional means 
of defense, is rather desirable than otherwise. 




COUNT VON OTTO BISMAECK. 



PRUSSIA. 



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62 rEANCO-PEUSSIAir WAR. 



NOETH GEEMAN CONFEDEEATIOF. 

PARLIAMENT AND FEDERAL CONSTITrxION. 

The Parliament is composed of 296 deputies — one deputy 
for every 100,000 inhabitants. 

The Federal Constitution of the Korth German Con- 
federation assigns the presidency of the Confederation to 
the King of Prussia, who declares war, makes peace, con- 
cludes treaties, sends and receives embassadors in the name 
of the Confederation. (Chap, iv.) 

The legislatures of Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Baden, 
ratified the military zollverein treaties which their gov- 
ernments had concluded with Prussia ; and at a con- 
vention of the South German States held in ISTovember, 
1868, it was officially stated that the military conventions 
would be carried out, and that in case of war between 
Prussia and France, all the South German States would 
side with Prussia. It was also agreed, that early in 1868, 
the Customs Union Parliament should meet, composed of 
delegates from Southern as well as J^orthern Germany, thus 
giving to the German people, for the first time since 1848, 
a Parliament representing the whole Fatherland, with the 
exception of the German provinces of Austria. 

AEMY AND NAVY. 

The armament being computed in connection with that 
of Prussia, a distinctive statement of the respective numeri- 
cal forces of each — from the data at hand — has been found 
inadmissible. The combined strength of both can be ascer- 
tained by reference to the article on Prussia, hence a repe- 
tition of the same is omitted here. 

Extracts from the Federal Constitution relative to mili- 
tary service are, however, given, on which is founded an 
estimate of the eifective armj^ 



SOUTH GERMAN" STATES. 



63 



EXTRACTS FROM THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 

Every able-bodied male inhabitant serves in the active 
army from the age of 20 years to 27, and in the Landwehr 
till the age of 32. 

The effective strength of the Federal Army for 10 years 
will be 1 per cent, of the whole population. (This would 
make the eifective strength about 300,000 men.) 



SOUTH GEEMAN STATES. 

The following comprise the South German States:- 



States. 


Area. 


Popula- 
tion. 


Revenue. 


Public 
Debt. 


Euler. 


Title. 


Date of 
Access. 


Bavaria*(dediict 
















provinces ced- 




Florins. 


Florins. 








ed to Prussia) . 


170,688 


7,774,464 


87,144,606 
Florins. 


334,405,150 
Florins. 


Ludwig II. 


King. 


1864 


Wurtemberg* . . 


7,568 


1,748,328 


22,395,981 


126,860,470 


Charles I. 


King. 


1864 


Hess e-D a"r m- 
















stadtt (except 
















the upper pro- 
















vince, which 
















belongs to 






Guilderfs. 


Florins. 








N. Germany).. 


2,970 


564,465 


9.407,008 
Floi'ins. 


2,038,000 
Florins. 


Louis III. 


Grand-Duke. 


1849 


Baden t 


5,912 


1,429,199 


28,898,998 


3,228,003 


Frederick. 


Grand-Duke. 


1832 








187,138 


11,516,456 





* Limited Monarchy, two Chambers. t Limited Sovereignty, two Chambers. 

According to a conference held at Stuttgart, February 
8, 1868, of the representatives of the four South German 
States for a discussion of a uniform militia organization, the 
following was agreed upon as the basis of further military- 
arrangements : — 

(Extracts) Article 2. — Military organization as largely as 
possible upon a system similar in principle to that of 
Prussia. 

(Extracts) Article 3. — Standing army of the line and 
reserve to be about 2 per cent, of the whole population, 1 



64 FRANOO-PKUSSIAN WxiR. 

per cent, of wliicli to constitute the actual effective force; 
and in no case to be lower than 1^ per cent, for the gen- 
eral strength of the standing army, and f per cent, for the 
actual effective force. Time of service to commence after 
the 20tli year; after 3 years' active service, to join war 
reserve of their division, with liability to be employed in 
time of war. After expiration of time of service in the 
standing army, to enter reserve battalions (first ban of the 
Landwehr) ; time of service in the standing army and in 
the reserve battalions (Landwehr) ends at the completion 
of the 32d year. 

According to the above agreement the standing army of 
the four South German States would be 170,325 men, of 
which the full effective force would be 85.565 men. 

BAVASIAN AEMY. 

Peace footing— Officers, 2,139 ; officials, 742 ; men, 
34,662 ; 8,647 horses and 192 guns. War footing— Officers 
and men, 69,064; reserve, 25,757; garrison troops, 22,614. 
Together with 17,236 horses and 240 guns. 

AKMY OF WIJKTE]\IBEEG. 

The army in 1868 consisted of 34,405 men, of which 
14,150 were in active service. 



THE ZOLLVEEEIN. 

The following stipulations were agreed to between the 
North German Confederation and the South German States 
in a conference held in Berlin, June 3, 1868 : — 

The treaties of the Zollverein concluded in 1865 to 
remain in force a period of twelve years. 

The South German States to give up their power of veto ; 
the Customs legislation henceforth belongs to the Federal 



THE ZOLLVEREi:^. ' 65 

Council of the E"ortli German Confederation, to which the 
South German States will send thirteen plenipotentiaries 
in the following proportions : Bavaria, 6 ; Wurtemberg, 4 ; 
Baden, 3 ; and Hesse-Darmstadt 2. The South German 
States will also be represented in the Reichstag, to which 
it will send eighty-six deputies chosen according to the 
electoral law of the Confederation, as follows : by Bavaria, 
48 ; Wurtemberg, 18 ; Baden, 14 ; Hesse-Darmstadt, 6. 
The proposals concerning the important modifications of 
the tariff of fundamental institutions of the Zollverein will 
be first discussed by the Federal Council. If there is a 
divergency of opinion the vote of Prussia will be decisive 
in the event of its being given for the maintenance of the 
existing dispositions. The States of the Zollverein aban- 
don the privileges which some of them heretofore enjoyed. 
Those of the South German States which may consent to 
establish in their territories the tax on tobacco, which, 
according to the constitution of the I^orth, will be estab- 
lished also in the ^Northern States, after the ratification 
of the preliminaries the general conference of the Zollver- 
ein, consisting of the representatives of Prussia, Bavaria, 
"Wurtemberg, Baden, Saxony, Hesse-Darmstadt, and the 
States of Thuringen and Oldenburg, will assemble at Berlin 
to draw up on the bases put forward, the new treaty consti- 
tuting the German Zollverein. 

The preliminaries having been ratified by the South 
German States, the general conference assembled at Berlin 
on the 26th June, 1868, and, in accordance with provisions 
agreed upon, June 4th, drew up the new treaty constitut- 
ing the German Zollverein, June 26tli, which treaty received 
the sanction of all the South German Diets. 



66 FEANCO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 

EIVEES OF FEMOE AND aEEMANT. 

THE KHINE. 

The Rhine, one of the most celebrated rivers of Europe, 
is formed in Switzerland by the union of two small streams, 
- — the Hinter and Yorder Rhein. The Hinter springs from 
the glacier of Rheinwald, and the Yorder Rhein rises on 
the north side of Mount St. Gothard, at an altitude of 6,550 
feet ; these streams meet at Reichenau, in the canton of 
the Grisons. 

The united stream flows generally north, past Mayenfeld, 
and enters the Lake of Constance on the southeast, near 
Rheineck ; at Stein it quits the lake at its western ex- 
tremity, flows west past Schafl'hausen and Laufenburg, sep- 
arating Switzerland from Bavaria. At Basel, where the 
Upper Rhine terminates, with an elevation of 755 feet, and 
a breadth of 550 feet, it turns to the north, and flows past 
Breisach and Strasbourg, Speyer and Mannheim, where its 
bed is 300 feet above the sea, between the territories of 
Baden on the east, and France and Rhenish Bavaria on the 
west. From Worms to Mentz it traverses the Hessian ter- 
ritory. At Mentz it receives the Main, and flows west to 
Bingen, where it turns to the northwest, passing Coblenz, 
Bonn, Cologne, and 'Dusseldorf, Wesel and Emmerick, be- 
low which it divides into two principal arms, the larger of 
which, called the Waal, or Wahal (ancient Yahalis), joins the 
Meuse (or Maas). The other, which still retains the name 
of Rhine, falls into theN^orth Sea, in 52° 13' north latitude. 
The principal aflluents of the Rhine are, on the right, the 
Kinzig, ITeckar, Main, Lahn, Ruhr, Lippe ; and on the left, 
the Thur, Aar, 111, and Moselle. 

The total length of the Rhine, following its windings, is 
960 miles, and its basin comprises an area of 65,280 square 
miles. Its breadth at Basel is 750 feet ; between Stras- 



EIYERS OF FEANCE AND GERMANY. 67 

bonrg and Speyer 1,000 feet ; at Mentz 1,500 to 1,Y00 feet ; 
and at Scbenckenschanz, where it enters the Netherlands, 
2,150 feet. Its depth varies from five to twenty-eight feet, 
and at Dnsseldorf fifty feet. The Rhine first becomes navi- 
gable at Chiir (Coire), in the Grisons, but the navigation is 
not continuous until below Schaifhausen. From Strasbourg: 
to Mentz, the burden of vessels is generally from 100 to 125 
tons, from Mentz to Cologne 125 to 200, and from Cologne 
to Holland 300 to 450 tons. In the Netherlands it is con- 
nected by canals with its several branches and with the 
sea. The great North Canal unites it with the Mouse and 
the Nethe, affluents of the Scheldt ; and the Canal of the 
Rhone and Rhine in France connects it with the Rhone 
by the Saone, and a canal also connects it with the Seine. 
In Bavaria it communicates with the Danube by means of 
the Main and the Altmiihl and Ludwigs Canal. 

From Basel to Mentz it flows through a wide valley, 
bounded on the left by the Yosges, and on the right by the 
Black Forest and the mountains along the Bergstrasse. 
From Mentz the mountain ridges approach the stream at 
first only on the right bank, where they form the Rheingau ; 
but at Bingen they begin to hem in the left bank also, and 
continue from thence to Konigswanter to present a succes- 
sion of lofty mountain summits, bold precipices, and wild 
romantic views. Pleasant towns and villages lie nestled at 
the base of lofty hills ; above them, on all sides, rise rocky 
steeps and slopes, clothed with vines ; and every now and 
then the castles and fastnesses of feudal times are seen 
frowning from precipices apparently inaccessible. At 
times the chain of ridges on either side opens out, and 
allows the eye to wander into romantic valleys, along which 
tributaries of greater or less magnitude dash down, or wind 
gradually to the parent stream. 

The Rhine gives name to three circles of Baden, to a 
province of Hesse-Darmstadt, a province of Bavaria, two 



68 FRANCO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 

departments of France (Haut-Ehin and Bas Khin), and a 
province of Prussia. 

THE MOSELLE 

Rises in the southeast department of Yosges, France, passes 
Eemiremont, Epinal, Toul, Frouard, Pont-a-Mousson, Metz, 
and Thionville, in France ; separates the duchy of Luxem- 
burg from Rhenish Prussia, and joins the Rhine on the left 
of Coblenz. It is navigable from its confluence with the 
Meurthe near Frouard. The chief affluents in France are 
the Meurthe and Seille on the right, and in the Prussian 
States the Sarre on the right, and the Sure, Kyll, and Elz 
on the left. Its whole length is 328 miles. 

EIVEK SAREE 

Rises in the Yosges Mountains, flows through the French 
departments of Meurthe and Moselle and a part of Rhenish 
Prussia, and joins the Moselle five miles southwest of 
Treves, after a north course of 120 miles, of which it is 
navigable for fifty miles. 

THE MAIN. 

The river Main rises by two streams, the Red and 
White Main, in the Fitchtelberg Mountains, E'orth Bava- 
ria, and flows very tortuously west, and joins the Rhine 
opposite Mentz. Its length is 280 miles. It is navigable 
from Regnitz (240 miles) to the Rhine. The chief affluents 
on the left are Regnitz and Tauber ; on the right, the Saale. 

THE NECKAK. 

The river Neckar rises in the mountains of the Schwarz- 
wald (Wurtemberg), on the frontier of Baden, flows gener- 
ally north and west to Mannheim, where it joins the Rhine 
on the right. Length, 210 miles. It is shallow, and diffi- 
cult of navigation. The chief affluent is the Jaxt, on the 
right. 



EHENISH PROymCES. 69 

EHENISH PEOYINCES. 

A GENEEATioN ago, Ylctor Hugo wrote a book on the 
Hhine, in which, besides giving the most fascinating and 
poetic of all descriptions of that famous stream, he cried 
out, 'Trance, take back the Khine," as he stood at the 
tomb of Hoche, who was buried on the shores of that river. 

"Whose shall be the Rhine?" which is now being so 
terribly and fearfully contested for by the armies of France 
and Prussia, we give the translation of the poetical answer 
by Mkolaus Buker, entitled the " German Rhine," and 
the "French Reply," by Alfred de Musset, both perfect 
gems in their way. 

GERMAN RHINE. 

It never shall be France's, 

The free, the German Rhine, 
Though raven-like she glances 

And croaks her foul design. 

So long as calmly gliding 

It wears its mantle green, 
So long as oar dividing 

Its mirrored wave is seen. 

It never shall be France's, 

The free, the German Rhine, 
So long as youth enhances 

His fervor with its wine. 

So long as, sentry keeping, 

The rocks its margin stud ; 
So long as spires are steeping 

Their image in its flood. 

It never shall be France's, 

The free, the German Rhine, 
So long as festive dances 

Its lover-groups combine ; 

So long as angler bringeth 

lis lusty trout to shore, 
So long as minstrel singeth 

Its praise from door to door. 

It never shall be France's, 

The free, the German Rhine, 
Until its broad expanse is 

Its last defender's shrine. 



TO FEANCC-PEUSSIAN WAR. 



THE FKENCH REPLY. 

Your German Rhine has been ours before 1 

It has served our wassail bowls to fill. 
Can singing its praise from door to door 

Efface the hoof-prints, legible still, 
Of our cavalry charge that bathed its left bank in your gore ? 

Tour German Rhine has been ours before ! 

On its breast the wound yet gapeth wide, 
"Which conquering Conde made, when he tore 

Through its mantle of green to the farther side : 
Where once the sire has ridden, shall the son not ride once more ? 

Your German Rhine has been ours before I 

Of your German virtues what remains 
When across its flood our legions pour 

And the Empire over-clouds your plains? 
When all your men have fallen, have ye other men in store ? 

Your German Rhine has been ours before! 

If ye your annals would fain forget 
Your daughters remember the days of yore, 

And wish the Frenchmen among them yet, 
For whom your vintage white they were always blithe to pour. 

If your German Rhine be yours once more, 

Then wash your liveries in its tide ; 
But pitch your arrogance somewhat lower! 

Can ye recall with generous pride 
Your myriad raven-beaks that drank the dying Eagle's gore ? 

May your German Rhine flow evermore 

In peace ; and modestly may each spire 
Re mirrored fair in its glassy floor ! 

But oh I keep down your bacchanal fire 
Which, else, may rouse to life again the victor hearts of yore. 

The Ehine is, according to Frenchmeii, the "natural 
"boundary " of France. The Germans, however, do not 
agree with them. The people of the German Rhenish 
provinces are German in language, tastes, and feelings, and 
have no admiration for the French. 

France owns the west bank of the Rhine from a few 
miles north of Basel, in Switzerland, to the frontier of the 
Palatinate at Lauterburg. Tlie possession of the last- 
named district would add to the list of French cities, Spires, 
with its old cathedral, and the fortified places of Landau 



RHENISH PROVINCES. 71 

and Neustadt, besides a large number of smaller towns and 
villages. In Rhenish Prussia — speaking always of the 
western shore of the Rhine — the first town of importance 
is Worms, associated with the name of Luther. After 
passing over the flat, highly cultivated district through 
which the Rhine here sluggishly rolls along, the towers 
and bridges of Mayence loom in sight. This is a city 
of strategic and historic importance. Shortly further on is 
Bingen ; and there begins the marvelous scenery which has 
given to the Rhine such world-wide celebrity, and has made 
familiar, the names of such trifling, though picturesque ham- 
lets as Oberwessel, St. Goar, Boppart, Andernach, Bacha- 
rach, Remagen, and the like. Midway among these is 
Coblenz, overlooked by " Ehrenbreitstein's castled height," 
and still further down the stream is the collegiate town of 
Bonn. 

The position of France in Europe is almost impregnable 
on all sides save one. From Calais, on the Straits of Dover, 
along her entire sea-coast boundary on the British Channel 
and the Atlantic Ocean, running north and west, her situa- 
tion is admirable. On the south nature has also provided 
a boundary in the Pyrenees, which divides the empire from 
Spain and the Mediterranean Sea. From, say, Nice, she is 
bounded by the Alps, which separates her from Italy and 
Switzerland, to the Yosges Mountains, across thence to the 
Upper Rhine, and along that river to a point near the 
famous town of Lauterbourg. Here the boundary, which 
has been running east-northeast, abruptly turns to a north- 
northwest direction along an imaginary line, separating her 
from Bavaria, Rhenish Prussia, Luxemburg and Bel- 
gium. 

It is this exposed frontier which is the cause of all the 
present difficulty. It has necessitated on the part of France 
and Germany the construction of a series of fortresses, of 
which the most formidable, are Strasbourg and Metz, in the 



^2 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

first-named country, and Mayence, Ehrenbreitstein (oppo- 
site Coblenz), and Cologne in Prussia. 

Having the Ehenish-German provinces west of the Rhine, 
the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg and the Kingdom of 
Holland, France could look with complacency upon the 
growth of Prussia, for she would then possess a natural 
frontier, made by the Rhine, that would be dangerous for an 
enemy to pass. With these possessions, and with the con- 
sequent establishment of fortresses along the entire line, 
she would be almost impregnable on all sides, and could 
bid defiance to the combined powers of Europe. 

This is the " Dream of French Empire," the attempts for 
the realization of which have so far proved abortive and 
unsuccessful. 



STEATEaiO POINTS, 

COBLENZ. 



CoBLENZ is situated on the left bank of the Rhine and the 
riffht bank of the Moselle, at the confluence of those rivers. 
The name of the place is a corruption of Connuentes, by 
which the Romans called it. It is about seventy-five miles 
northeast of Metz by the post road, but is more than double 
that distance by way of the river, owing to its sinuosities. 
Coblenz contains a population of about twenty-five thousand 
souls, and is one of the best fortified places in Prussia. The 
fortifications surrounding it form a vast camp, capable of 
containing one hundred thousand men, and combine the 
systems of Carnot and Montalembert. Four forts protect 
it on the left bank of the Rhine. The first is Fort Kaiser 
Franz, situated below the town on the left bank of the 
Moselle, and commanding all the approaches from Co- 
logne and Treves. Above, on the hill of the Chartreuse, 



STRATEGIC POINTS. 73 

are Forts Alexander and Constantine, the guns of which 
sweep the roads from Majence. Fourth fort is situated 
over the Hundsruck Mountain. These fortifications, with 
the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, after the downfall of E^a- 
poleon, were twenty odd years in rebuilding, and cost 
some $5,000,000. The principal strength of the city lies 
in Ehrenbreitstein (honor's broad stone), a village and fort- 
ress situated on a large rock which towers above every 
thing for miles around. It is termed the Gibraltar of the 
Ehine and is certainly a most formidable position. On 
three sides it is absolutely impregnable to assault, but on 
the northwest it is comparatively exposed. Its weakness 
here is apparent at a glance, and efforts have been made 
to repair it by the construction of three lines of defenses, 
all of which must be stormed before an enemy can enter 
the fortress. Nevertheless it is possible that artillery massed 
on these works could render them untenable. Four hun- 
dred heavy guns are mounted in the fortress, and these 
sweep the Rhine in all directions and the road to ^Nassau. 
On the top of the rock is a great platform which serves as 
a parade ground and which covers large arched cisterns, 
supplied with water by springs without the walls, and 
capable of containing a three years' supply of the liquid. 
There is also a well, sunk 400 feet in the rock, communi- 
cating with the Ehine. In 1794 Coblenz proper was taken 
by the French after a desperate resistance. Ehrenbreitstein, 
which the same nation had failed to capture in 16S8, 
although Yauban himself directed the operations, held out 
until 1796, when it was compelled to surrender, the garrison 
having been reduced to starvation. Cats and horses were 
eaten by the besieged during the last days. It is hardly 
possible that any attempt will be made by the French to 
take Coblenz by a direct attack. A flank movement to 
drive the Prussians from the place will doubtless be made. 
After the peace of Luneville the French blew up Ehren- 



74 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

breitstein on evacuating it ; but it is now considered to be 
stronger than ever. 



KEEUZENACH. 

Kreuzenach is a town of 10,000 inhabitants, and is 
situated eight miles south of Bingen (" dear Bingen on the 
Rhine"), on the railroad between Metz andMayence. This 
railroad runs west by south from Mayence to Bingen, near 
the banks of the Rhine, when it takes an abrupt turn and 
continues almost due south to Krenzenaeh, when it follows 
a west by south, southwest, and west-southwest course to 
Metz, making it a decidedly crooked road. It forms con- 
nection with the Metz and Mannheim Railroad at Bexbach, 
on the Bavarian frontier, where a single road continues to 
Metz. Near Bexbach is the town of Ilomburg, in Bavaria, 
where the fortress of Schlossberg, celebrated in the Tliirty 
Years' War, was located, and which was razed in 1714. 

Kreuzenach lies on both sides of the River Nahe, a stone 
bridge connecting the two parts. The west side, which is 
the most populous, is poor and dilapidated, but the east 
side is covered by splendid hotels and fine houses. On 
account of its cold saline spring it is a favorite resort for 
invalids, several thousands of whom visit it yearly. As a 
military position the place possesses no special importance. 
It is, however, very old, and was at one time a fortilied 
post. In 1632 the Swedes, commanded by Gustavus 
Adolphus, took it by assault, after a severe struggle, in which 
Lord Craven, the champion of the Queen of Bohemia, and 
every English officer present were wounded. It has been 
owned alternately by the Germans and French, though it has 
been for the greater part of the time under the control or 
protection of France. In 1644, the French gave it to the 
Counts Palatine of Simmern, exactly forty-four years after 
they ravaged it ; in 1807 it was annexed to the empire, 



STRATEGIC POINTS. 75 

and in 1814, after the downfall of JN'apoleon, it was given to 
Prussia, which country has retained it ever since. 

The distances from Kreuzenach to the most prominent 
points occupied by the belligerent armies are as follows : — To 
Metz, about 116 miles by railroad ; to Coblenz, about forty- 
three miles, via Bingen ; to Mayence, via Bingen, about 
twenty- three ; to Mannheim, by post road, forty miles, and 
to Treves about sixty miles. Its special ad vantage is undoubt- 
edly its position between Coblenz and Mayence, and the 
complete manner in which it covers the entire railroad 
connecting those two places. 

CAKLSEUHE. 

Carlsruhe is a city of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and 
of the circle of Middle Ehine, on the railway from Mann- 
heim to Basel, four miles east of the Khine, and thirty-nine 
miles west-northwest of Stuttgart. 

Population, about 30,000. 

MAYENCE (or MEKTz). 

Mayence is a city of Hesse-Darmstadt, capital of Khein- 
hessen, on the left bank of the Phine, opposite to the 
mouth of the Main, and twenty miles west-southwest of 
Frankfort, with which it is connected by railway. It has 
a fortress, and is walled, and flanked with bastions, and 
defended besides by a citadel and several formidable forts 
and outworks. Fortifications have also been erected on 
some of the islands in the river. The famous bridge of 
boats 1,600 feet long connects it wdth Castel. Mayence 
owes its foundation to a Poman camp which Drusus pitched 
here. It was shortly after converted into a permanent 
bulwark, and became the most important of the line of 
forts along the Ehine. 

Population about 42,000. 



76 rRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

THIONVILLE. 

Thionville is a fortified town in the northeast of France, 
in the department of Moselle, capital of an arrondissement, 
and seventeen miles north of Metz, on the left bank of the 
Moselle. Population about 10,000. 

MEEZIG. 

Merzig is a town of Khenish Prussia, twenty-two miles 
south of Treves, on the Saar. 

ZIEECK. 

Zierck is a walled town of France, in the department of 
Moselle, eleven miles northeast of Thionville, on the right 
bank of the Moselle. Population about 2,000. 

SAAELOUIS. 

Saarlouis is a tow^n of Ehenish Prussia, on the frontier of 
France, thirty miles south-southeast of Treves, on the Saar. 
Population about 5,000. It forms an important border 
fortress. 

BOULAT. 

Boulay is a town of France in the department of Moselle, 
fifteen miles east -northeast of Metz, on the Kultzbach. 
Population about 3 000. 

TKEVES. 

Treves, situated in Khenish Prussia, is on the right bank 
of the Moselle, fifty-seven miles southwest of Coblenz. 
The river here is crossed by a' bridge six hundred and eighty 
feet long. It is the oldest city of Germany. Modern 
Treves consists of the town proper, and is surrounded by 
walls. Population is about 20,000! 

LAUTEEBOUKG. 

4 

Lauterbourg is a fortified town of France, in the depart- 
ment of Bas-Phin, on the river Lauter, near its confluence 
with the Rhine, thirty-four miles northeast of Strasbourg. 



STEATEGIO POINTS. 77 

SAAEBRrCK. 

Saarbriick is a town of Khenish Prussia, forty miles 
southeast of Treves, on tlie Saar. 

FOEBACH. 

Forbach is a town of France, in the department of Mo- 
selle, on the Nancy and Mannheim railroad, forty-three 
miles south-southwest of Metz. Population about 6,000. 

METZ. 

Metz is a fortified city of France, in the department of 
Moselle, at the confluence of the Moselle and Seille, and at 
the head of the branch railway from Paris to Strasbourg, 
one hundred and seventy miles east of Paris. Metz is one 
of the strongest and most important places in France. 
Population about 60,000. 

ST. AVOLD. 

St. Avoid is a town of France, department of Moselle, 
. the Possel, eightei 
Population over 4, 000. 



on the Possel, eighteen miles west of Sarreguemines. 



LUXEMBURG. 

Luxemburg, the capital of the Grand Duchy of the same 
name, is one hundred and fifteen miles west-southwest 
of Frankfort and one hundred and seventeen southeast 
of Brussels. 

Its natural position is so strong, and the difierent powers 
into whose hands it has successively fallen have done so 
much to extend and improve its means of defense, that 
Carnot pronounced it the strongest place in Europe after 
Gibraltar. The town is divided into two quarters, the 
Grindel and the Pfaffenthal. The latter stands two hun- 
dred feet higher on a steep scarped rock, and surrounded 
by a strong wall, deep ditches, and a double row of formi- 



Y8 fra¥co-prussia:n" war. 

dable outworks. The most remarkable part of tlie fortifi- 
cations, called Le Boue^ consists of a rocky promontory, 
which commands the valley both above and below. Popu- 
lation about 7,000. 

BINGEN. 

Bingen is a town of Hesse-Darmstadt, on the left bank of 
the Rhine, at the influx of the N^ahe, seventeen miles west 
of Mayence. 

JS'ear it the Ehine breaks through a mountain chain, and 
narrows to form the Bingerloch, a dangerous rapid at low 
w^ater. Population about 5,000. 

WORMS. 

Worms is a city of Hesse-Darmstadt, province of Phein- 
hessen, twenty-six miles southeast of Mentz, on the left 
bank of the Rhine, here crossed by a flying bridge. Pop- 
ulation about 12,000. 

MANNHEIM. 

Mannheim is a town of Baden, circle of the Lower Rhine, 
on the right bank of the Rhine, between it and the I^eckar, 
in a low situation protected by a dike, and is sixty-six 
miles south-southwest of Frankfort. 

I^EUBUKG. 

Neuburg is a village of Rhenish-Bavaria, near the Rhine, 
fifteen miles from Landau. Population about 2,000. 

LANDAU. 

Landau is a strongly fortified town of Rhenish Bavaria 
on the Queich, eighteen miles west of Carlsruhe. Popu- 
lation about 13,000. 



THE HOHENZOLLERNS. 79 



THE HOHENZOLLESNS. 

Fkederick William, usually styled the great elector, and 
the founder of the Prussian monarchy, was born in 1620, 
and his accession to the electoral power in 1640, is usually 
regarded as the founding of the nation. He brought 
Sweden to terms, freed Prussia from her former subordina- 
tion to Poland, kept Louis XIY. at bay, and even cut into 
his conquests, welcomed Protestant exiles to a free asylum, 
founded universities, identified himself with the liberties of 
Germany, and died in 1688, the year of the great revolu- 
tion that gave constitutional liberty its triumph in Eng- 
land. His son, Frederick I., born in 1657, carried out his 
father's policy, furnished troops to the English liberators, 
and January 18, lYOl, attained the darling object of his 
ambition, and with his wife, the sister of George I. of Eng- 
land, was crowned at Konigsberg. He died in 1713, the 
first king of Prussia. His son, Frederick William I. was 
born in 1688, and died in 1740, after a reign of twenty- 
seven years that so fully shows his shrewdness and folly, 
his honesty and his cruelty, parental carefulness and 
brutality. He left his son Frederick II., called the Great, 
over six millions of surplus money and an army of seventy- 
two thousand soldiers. 

Frederick the Great was born in Berlin in 1712, and 
died at Potsdam in 1786. It is well to remember that he 
had English blood in his veins, and that his mother was 
daughter of George I. of England. His life is too famous 
to need notice here, and I pass on to his nephew, Frederick 
William 11. , who was grandson of Frederick William I. 
He was born in 1743, and died in 1797. He was austerely 
educated under his uncle's eye, but voluptuous and vision- 
ary, extravagant and arbitrary ; yet his reign of eleven years 
was not without good influence upon the public spirit, the 



80 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

laws and industry of Prussia. His son, Frederick William 
III., was born in 1770, and died in 1840 

Before speaking of his career, I will complete the record 
of the royal family and say that the son, Frederick William 
TV., who succeeded him in 1840, was born in 1795, and in 
1858 he was compelled by insanity to yield the manage- 
ment of affairs to his brother William, who succeeded him 
in 1861, as King William I., who was born in 1797, and 
whose son, Prince Frederick William, born in 1831, is now 
the crown prince of Prussia. 

FREDEEICK WILLIAM III. 

Frederick William III. deserves to be named with his 
grand nncle, Frederick the Great, as doing the work in the 
nineteenth century whicli Frederick did in the eighteenth. 
He withstood Napoleon and French centralization, with all 
its Latin affinities, as Frederick withstood very much the 
same spirit in the despots of Eussia, Austria, and France, 
and fought the battle of modern times in his day. He was 
carefully educated by a good mother, saw enough of his 
father's extravagances and his grand-uncle's severe econ- 
omy to form habits and ideas of order, discipline, and fru- 
gality. Probably the best thing for him was his early mar- 
riage at the age of twenty-three, to the beautiful and 
accomplished Princess Louisa, of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 
whom he met at Frankfort in 1793. It seems to have 
been an honest, old-fashioned love match, wise as it turned 
out in the end to be, and the Prince of Prussia was so 
struck by her beauty, nobleness, grace, and sense, that he 
at once asked her hand. The betrothal took place, and the 
marriage followed on the 24th of December following. On 
the death of King Frederick William, she ascended the 
throne with her husband, ISTovember 16, 1798, and won all 
hearts by her goodness. She ^helped the unfortunate, in- 
terested herself in art and literature, encouraged agriculture 



THE HOHENZOLLEENS. 81 

and education, and had an eye for merit of all kinds. Tlie 
favorite of the Prussian people, slie had, of course, a certain 
influence in public affairs, and is supposed in 1804 to have 
influenced the king in favor of the war with France, which 
pi'oved to he so disastrous to Prussia, altliough it was very 
popular with the people at the time. 

LOUISA AND NAPOLEON I. 

Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland brought the liumiliating 
peace of Tilsit, July, 1807, which sacrificed one half the 
territory of Prussia and left the other half at the mercy of 
the conqueror. Louisa was with Frederick William during 
that treaty, and there met ^Napoleon twice at dinner, and 
almost persuaded him, in spite of himself, to grant her re- 
quest. The first time he presented her with a rose, and as 
she accepted it, she added, '^Avec Magdtbiirg cm moi7is.''^ 
— " With Magdeburg at least." She did not get that for- 
tress from Napoleon, but he confessed that she was fully up 
to him in spirit, and led the conversation in spite of his 
efi'orts and his address, constantly pressing her point upon 
him with great propriety, and in a way that could not pro- 
voke him. The queen seems to have been a sharp thorn, 
however, to the French emperor, and there is reason to be- 
lieve that he countenanced lampoons against her, and even 
accused her of too much regard for Alexander of Russia. 
One of his bulletins satirized the part she took at the tonjj^ 
of Frederick the Great at Potsdam in the oath of her husband 
and Alexander against the French, J^ovember 4, 1805, and 
the consequence, which was the battle of Austerlitz and the 
evacuation of Germany b}^ the Russian army with marching 
rations. Yet in the calm reflection of St. Helena he seems 
to have thought well of the brave woman who had done so 
much to set Germany against him, and whose spirit strove 
against him long after her exhausted body was laid to rest 
in 1810. O'Meara attributes these sentiments to JSTapoleon : 

4* 



82 FEANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

"" I have had," said the emperor, "a high consideration for 
her ; and if the king had brought her at first to Tilsit, he 
would have obtained better conditions. She was elegant, 
spirituelle, prodigiously insinuating. She bitterly deplored 
the war. The queen could not be consoled for the treaty 
of Tilsit and for the loss of Magdeburg. ' Peace is con- 
cluded,' slie wrote a little time after, ' but at what price ! 
Our frontiers do not reach beyond the Elbe. After all the 
king has shown himself greater than his adversary.' " 

^Napoleon had good cause to remember her as she was 
before and after her early death at thirty-four. She was 
with the king in his humiliation after his defeats, went with 
him to St. Petersburg in 1808 to share in the splendid re- 
ception there, and December 23, 1809, she re-entered Berlin 
with him, and took part in all his w^orthy eiiorts for the 
good of his people, and her name deserves to be connected 
with the foundation of that great Berlin University, which in 
some respects has no superior on earth. In June, 1810, she 
died in her husband's arms, and her body was laid in peace 
in the park at Charlottenburg, where Ranch raised a statue 
worthy of her memory, and where now her husband rests 
by her side in the tomb with a statue from the same master- 
hand. Her spirit never left him and the nation. She was 
with Blucher and the Prussians when they bore down upon 
the French at Waterloo, and settled the fortunes of the 
day ; and even now the order of Louisa, which the king 
created August 3, 1814, after entering Paris in' triumph, is 
the inspiration and reward of the youug chivalry of Prus- 
sia, and led so many heroes in the sainted queen's name to 
the victory of Sadowa in 1866. 

THE DESCENDANTS OF LOUISA. 

/ 

It is interesting to remember that the eldest daughter of 
Louisa, the Princess Charlotte, was married July 13, 1817, 
to ]S[icholas of Russia, and that she was the mother of 



GERMANY. 83 

Alexander II., the present emperor, a fact that strangely 
rebuffs the lampoon of Napoleon I. as to the oath of Alex- 
ander and Frederick William at the tomb of Frederick the 
Great in the queen's presence, and shows that Louisa's race 
still lives and triumphs, while J^apoleon's seed has perished, 
in spite of his repudiation of his loyal Josephine and his 
shift to wdn posterity and fame by an alliance with the 
house of Austria. The Emperor of Russia is her grandson, 
the King of Prussia is her son, and the Prince Roj-al of 
Prussia is lier grandson, w^ith good prospect of perpetuating 
his race by his marriage with Victoria's daughter Yictoria, 
wdio has already kept up the good name of her English 
mother by presenting her husband with five children in 
twelve years — three boys and two girls. The Prince Eoyal 
from his manly and somewhat severe simplicity, is a man 
very much after the Frederick William III. type, and who 
w^ould wear a patch on his boot in case of a pinch in his 
country's fortunes. His race, the Hohenzollern family, 
have done wonders by their economy as well as heroism, 
and they need both virtues in the recent extension of their 
dominion, and the new and embarrassing demands upon 
their treasury. 



OEEMANY. 



Geemany presents three distinctive groups : The Alpine 
Eegion south of Danube, 45,000 square miles; the elevated 
terraced central portion, 100,000 square miles ; and the level 
northern country, comprising about 100,000 square miles ; 
making in the aggregate, 245,000 square miles, with a pop- 
ulation of over 46,000,000 of inhabitants. 

Owing to its important central position, Germany has 
almost invariably become the theater of all the great Eu- 
ropean wars, no matter for what cause begun. On the 



84: FRANCO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 

west, formerly its principal defensive positions against 
France, viz. : The Netherlands (Holland and Belgium), 
Alsace, and Switzerland, have been lost. On the central 
portion of the Ehine France cuts deeply, almost at right 
angles, into Germany, and the valleys of the Main and Kin- 
zig rivers form an easy road for a French invading army. 
Hence such strong fortresses as Mayence, Coblenz, Luxem- 
burg, Saarlouis, Landau, Germersheim, etc., cluster there 
as bulwarks against French invasion, opposed by a similar 
number on the French side. 

On the southeast, Germany is protected b}^ numberless 
projecting spurs of the Alpine system and the mountainous 
character of Bohemia. 

The weakest point of Germany is the east and northeast 
frontier of Russia, where the Bussian territory enters into 
the body of Germany like a wedge. Besistance to which 
the fortresses of Bosen, Thorn, Konigsberg, etc., offer very 
little to invading force from Bussia. I^evertheless the de- 
fensive military power of United Germany w^ould be so 
strong as to deter all attempts at conquest and would be 
fully able to cope with combined Europe. 

At the beginning of the year 1866, the Germanic Con- 
federation consisted of 1 empire (Austria), 5 kingdoms 
(Brussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and Wurtemberg), 
1 electorate (Hesse-Cassel), 14 grand-duchies and ducliies, 
8 principalities, 1 landgravate (Hesse-PIomburg), and 4 
free cities (Frankfort, Bremen, Hamburg, and Lubeck). 
By the death of the childless Landgrave of Hesse-Hom- 
burg on March 24, 1866, it was annexed to Hesse-Darm- 
stadt leaving only 33 states. 

The Federal Diet on June 4, 1866, adopted the Aus- 
trian proposition for a mobilization of the Federal army. 
The Frussian representative declared he considered the 
Federal pact dissolved, submitted proposals- for the consti- 
tution of a new " bund," and withdrew from the Assembly. 



GEEMAKY. 85 

The two Meclvlenburgs, Saxe- Weimar, Saxe-Altenbnrg, 
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Oldenburg, Anlialt, Schwarzburg, the 
two Lippes, Waldeck, and Reuss, Younger line, following, 
soon after Prussia, the confederation was virtually dissolved, 
after having lasted 49 years, 9 months, and 19 days, from 
its formation, or the first meeting of the Diet in November 
5, 1816, to the 24:th of August, 1868. 

This, in connection with the serious complications en- 
gendered in the joint administrations of the Duchies of 
Schleswig and Ilolstein between Austria and Prussia, the 
former favoring the claim of Prince Augustenburg, and 
the formation of a defensive and offensive military alliance 
between Prussia and Italy, resulted in the war of 1866, 
which ended in the annexation of the Elbe duchies 
(Schleswig and Holstein) to the kingdom of Prussia, and 
the Austrian state of Yenetia (Lombardy having been 
already added) to the kingdom of Italy; the establishment 
of the North German Confederation, and the formation of 
a union of the four South German states, with military and 
other alliances between the same. 

The North German Confederation comprises, with Prus- 
sia, all of the German states north of the Main, and is the 
representative of the highest development of mental culture 
and the diversification of human labor of Germany ; while 
the Sonth German Union (of the states of Bavaria, Baden, 
Wurtemberg, and the remaining portion of Hesse-Darm- 
stadt), with the independent states of Liechtenstein and 
Luxemburg, have been slower in the development of men- 
tal culture and exhibit less diversification of labor. 

Practically, Germany appears only as a vast conglomerate 
of a multitude of petty states, and the present arrangement 
is not generally regarded in Europe as a permanent settle- 
ment, but only as a temporary compromise for avoiding 
new and serious complications. An eminent writer has 
said, '^ German}^ is not a nation, but merely a geographical 



S6 FRANCO-PRUSSIAI^ WAE. 

designation." Of the truth of the assertion, the reader can 
best judge. 

The aspiration of the German mind was, is, and always 
will be — as long as the race exists and the language is 
spoken — for a German National Political Unity, embracing 
all the German States of Europe — embodying a freer liberty 
and a purer and nobler civilization. 



EUEOPEAN WAES OF THE OENTUET. 

Within eleven years the French Republic of 1789 had 
ceased to be. The tide of destiny had swept away the Di- 
rectory, it had overwhelmed the Bourbons, the Girondists, 
and JRobespierre. The triumvirate of consuls had only 
served to show that France possessed a man who was equally 
great as a general and as a statesman, and that she had no 
other fit to cope with his ability or his ambition. Thus it 
came that in the year of grace 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte 
was First Consul of France, and had just established himself 
in almost regal state in the ancient palace of the king?. 
The revolution had almost completed its circle, and was 
close upon monarchy again. But ^' France had not ceased 
to be revolutionary." " Conquest made me what I am," 
said General Bonaparte ; " conquest alone can maintain me 
in that position." It was not sufficient that France should 
be prominent among the European powers, '' it must be first 
of all, or it will perish." 

TRIPLE ALLIANCE AGAINST FRANCE. 

It was, nevertheless, the policy of Bonaparte at this period 
to affect a desire for peace. He made friendly overtures to 
England, and had the counsels of the Whigs prevailed they 
would have been accepted. But the great premier William 



EUEOPEAN WAES OF THE CENTUEY. 8T 

Pitt, convinced the Commons that it was impossible to con- 
fide in a re])ublic wliicl/in ten years had committed more 
crimes than France had done during her entire existence, 
or in the word of a man who had never respected a promise, 
and who liad alike violated engagements made with foreign 
sovereigns and oaths tendered to his own government. In 
reply to this, the three consuls issued a proclamation call- 
ing Frenchmen to arms in defense of the national honor. 
In it occurred the following ; " The English ministry re- 
jects our offers; the English ministry has betrayed the 
secret of its horri ble policy to sever France — to destroy its 
marine and its harbors — to blot it out from the map of 
Europe — to degrade it to the rank of a secondary power — 
to keep all the nations of Europe separated by divisions — 
to monopolize the commerce of them all and enrich itself 
with their spoils." ... " It is no longer for the choice 
of tyrants that our nation is going to arm ; it is for the 
guaranty of all they hold dear — it is for the honor of 
France." Eassia, Austria, and England were banded 
against the republic, but neither the republic nor its chief 
were appalled. The British government alone had been 
voted a credit of thirty-nine and a half millions sterling, 
while the entire sum in the French treasury might have been 
counted by thousands. Bonaparte reckoned on the enthu- 
siasm of his soldiers, and on the resources of his own 
genius, and, in this instance, did not calculate in vain. 
Leaving General Moreau, who was to some extent his per- 
sonal rival, and who commanded troops whose attachment 
to the First Consul was but feeble, to deal with tlie Austrians 
on the Rhine, he resolved to attempt his great achievement 
of crossing the Alps by the route of Mount St. Bernard, 
and strike a blow at the allies in Italy. There has been in 
modern warfare no more striking instance of the pov/er of 
a single will, and the contagious enthusiasm communicated 
by a great enterprise, than the passage of Bonaparte's army 



88 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

of 40,000 men from Switzerland to the plains of Lombardy. 
The First Consul had not arrived a moment too soon. One 
of his generals was sustaining a close blockade by sea and 
land in the city of Genoa, another was retreating to the 
French frontier, and the Republic itself was being invaded 
by the Austrian s. 

BATTLE OF MAEENGO. 

j^apoleon's descent upon Piedmont was as unexpected 
as it was sudden, and completely upset the calculations of 
the Austrian generals. They were equally unprepared for 
his further movements, and while they hastened to defend 
Turin from an expected attack, he had promptly invested 
Milan, and with characteristic energy proceeded to reorgan- 
ize the Cisalpine Eepublic. Advancing from Milan to the 
relief of Genoa, of wdiose surrender he had not been ap- 
prised, the First Consul crossed the Po at Montebello, and 
took up a position close to the open plain of Marengo. 
Learning then that Genoa had capitulated, his attention 
was turned to doing battle with the Austrians who were 
encamped at some distance in front of him. Fearing that 
they might escape him, he advanced from his strong posi- 
tion among the rocks of Stradella into the open country, 
and found to his great satisfaction that tlie Austrians had 
resolved upon battle. Melas, the octogenarian leader of 
the Imperial troops, began his advance, and Bonaparte 
prepared to meet him by forming his army into three dis- 
tinct divisions, each stationed about three quarters of a- 
mile to the rear of the other. The French had in the field, 
to commence with, 20,000 men, whose numbers were, some 
hours after the battle had commenced, re-enforced by a 
reserve of 10,000, under Dessaix, who had just arrived from 
Egypt. The Austrians advanced to the attack with 40,000 
troops, confident of success from their superiority in strength, 
more especially in cavalry and artillery. The immediate 



EUROPEAN WAPwS OF THE CENTURY. 89 

prize of the victor would be the possession of Italy, and it 
was probable that the issne of the battle would change the 
destinies of Europe. Under such auspices the Austrian 
troops advanced early on the morning of June 14, 1800, upon 
the village of Marengo. The attack w^as made at seven 
o'clock ; by nine the French columns were dislodged and 
retreating in disorder. Point after point was gained by the 
Austrians, and so certain did the result of the battle appear, 
that General Melas retired to refresh a frame that years 
had rendered incapable of supporting fatigue. The battle 
would certainly have proved a crushing defeat for Bona- 
parte had not the reserves under Dessaix arrived at a critical 
moment. That general judged from the appearance of 
the field that he could only assist in covering the retreat 
of his superior. ''By no means," said Bonaparte, "the 
battle, I think, is gained," and rallying his scattered troops, 
as he well knew how, and by a dexterous movement chang- 
ing his base of operations, he did gain the battle, and slept 
as was his custom upon the field of victory. 

THE NEW COALITION. 

The decisive conflict of Marengo paved the way for an 
interval of peace, of which France stood urgently in need. 
During an almost uninterrupted struggle for ten years, she 
had defied, single-handed, the united strength of Europe, 
and was left by the treaties concluded with the various 
powers between 1801 and 1802, undisputed mistress of 
southwestern Europe. The treaty of peace with Great 
Britain is known as that of Amiens, and the failure to 
fulfill that portion of it relating to the surrender of the island 
of Malta was the reason alleged on the part of France for a 
renewal of hostilities. Hanover was taken possession of by the 
French armies, and the North German dukedoms were laid 
under contribution, the King of Prussia declining to interfere 
for their protection ; HoUand, Italy, Spain, and Portugal were 



90 FKANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

compelled to furnish their pecuniary quota to the French 
government, and a further aid of $15,000,000 was obtained 
by the sale of Louisiana to the United States. The First 
Consul had been confirmed in his dignity for ten years, 
then for life, and still later on the 3d of May^ 1804, the 
" Government of the Kepublic" was confided to '' ISTapoleon 
Bonaparte, hereditary Emperor." After an interval of 
desultory hostilities, and the great demonstration made 
early in 1805, by forming a vast camp at Boulogne for the 
invasion of England, the emperor found himself called 
upon to face the powerful league of Austria, Russia, and 
England which the latter power had succeeded in forming 
against him. On the first of October he passed the Rhine, 
and entered Bavaria with an army of 160,000 men. " You 
are but the vangnard of the great nation," said the em- 
peror ; " if it be necessary it will in a moment rise at my 
voice, to dissolve the new league which British gold and 
hatred hath woven." 

BATTLE OF AUSTEKLITZ. 

Advancing at the head of the main body of his army, 
Napoleon took undispnted possession of Yienna. He after- 
ward proceeded to join the army that was advancing into 
Moravia to meet the Russians, and after being joined by 
other two divisions the French found themselves confronted 
on the plain of Austerlitz,' on the road between Yienna and 
Olmutz, by the main body of the allies. The Emperors of 
Russia and Austria were on the field, and their generals 
commanded a combined force of 75,000 men. The French 
were about equal in numbers, and superior both in confi- 
dence and discipline. At sunrise on the 2d December, 
1805, the battle commenced, and continued with varying 
fortune till sunset. The stubbornly contested field ended 
with the orderly retreat of the allies, after leaving, however, 
the greater part of their artillery and baggage, and an 



EUEOPEAN WARS OF THE CEN-TURY. 91 

immense number of slain behind tbem. Its results were 
thus summed up by the victorious emperor : " Forty stand 
of colors, the standards of the Imperial liussian Guard, a 
hundred and twenty pieces of cannon, twenty generals, and 
more than 30,000 prisoners are the result of this forever 
glorious day. Their infantry, so vaunted and so superior 
in numbers, has been unable to resist your onset, and 
henceforth you have no rivals to dread. Thus in two 
months the third coalition has been vanquished and dis- 
persed." The peace of Presburg followed the victory of 
Austerlitz, and by it the humiliation of the Austrian Em- 
pire became complete. In Italy and Germany alike it 
suffered a diminution of territory, and the emperor returned 
to Paris to receive the title of the Great, and to appoint 
subject princes to the kingdoms he had newly created. 

NAYAL BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 

ISTot content with his victories on land, E^apoleon deter- 
mined to dispute with Great Britain the supremacy of the 
ocean. On the 19th of October, the combined fleets of 
France and Spain, numbering thirty-two ships of the line, 
seven frigates and eight corvettes, left Cadiz under the com- 
mand of Admiral Yilleneuve and proceeded westward. 
The English admiral. Lord l^elson, having under his com- 
mand twenty-seven vessels of the line, came in sight of the 
enemy near Cape Trafalgar on the morning of the 21st of 
October. The French admiral arranged his ships in one 
line, forming a crescent, converging to leeward, and so 
awaited the attack of the double column of British vessels 
that advanced against him. For four hours a desperate 
conflict was waged, each ship in succession having selected 
her adversary and grappled with her at close quarters. 
Early in the afternoon the Spanish admiral showed the 
example of retreat, and just as Lord ]N"elson's life was ebb- 
ing away from a fatal wound, received during the action, 



92 FRANOO-PEUSSIAK WAR. 

intelligence was brought to him that fifteen sail of the line 
had struck their colors, and that the fight had resulted in a 
glorious victory for the British flag. 

PRUSSIA AKEATED AGAINST FKANCE. 

The Treaty of Presburg left Napoleon master of West- 
ern Europe. As emperor he ruled a France which extended 
from the Rhine to the Pyrenees, as king of Italy he con- 
trolled a territory extending from the Alps to the Adriatic ; 
one brother sat on tlie throne of Naples and another on 
that of Holland. Spain was his vassal, and he held the 
position of self-constituted " Mediator" of the Swiss repub- 
lic. Bavaria and Wurtemberg owed subjection to him, and 
fourteen princes, in all, in the south and west of Germany, 
formed what was called the " Confederation of the Hhine," 
and recognized him as their protector. The German Em- 
pire had ceased to exist, and Francis II. contented himself 
with the title of Emperor of Austria. Prussia had hitherto 
maintained a cautious neutrality in the struggle which had 
convulsed Europe. She had quietly submitted to some 
violations of her territory, and Frederick William III. had 
even treated with Napoleon for the cession of the Electorate 
of Hanover, the inheritance of the dynasty that, in the per- 
son of George III., then sat on the throne of England. The 
French emperor had no intention of keeping to this engage- 
ment, and an early intimation of how they had been trifled 
with aroused the utmost resentment in the Prussian gov- 
ernment. On the 1st of October, 1806, the Prussian em- 
bassador presented the following demands: First — That 
the French army, without delay, repass the Rhine. Second 
— The establishment of the Northern Germanic Confedera- 
tion. Third — The separation of certain places from the 
Confederation of the Ehine. The French emperor replied by 
a rapid advance upon Upper Saxony, with a view of cutting 



EUROPEAN WARS OF THE CENTURY. 93 

off the Prussian army before Eussia had time to render 
them any assistance. 

THE BATTLE OF JEOSTA. 

The Duke of Brunswick was placed in chief command 
of the Prussian army, and the veteran Marshal MuUen- 
dorf, the last of the generals trained under the Great 
Frederick, was second in command. On the eve of the 
13th of October the hostile armies found themselves face to 
face at Jena. The French troops, numbering about 90,000 
men, took up position on the heights which had previously 
been considered impracticable for artillery. The Prussians 
and Saxons numbered about 126,000, and were unduly 
weakened by the excessive length of the line occupied by 
their front. Two hours after day-break the action com- 
menced, and for some time was continued with much obsti- 
nacy on either side. The turning point of the battle was an 
impetuous attack made by General Murat with his cavalry 
and cuirassiers. This turned the fortune of the day, and a 
complete and disastrous defeat of the Prussians was the 
result. The French bulletin claimed that their own loss 
amounted only to about 5,000, while that of the Prussians 
was represented by 20,000 killed and wounded, 30,000 to 
40,000 prisoners, 300 pieces of cannon, and immense stores 
of warlike materiel. The French triumph was complete. 
Fortress after fortress capitulated to the conquerors; the chieT 
cities of Prussia were soon invested, and a division of 
I^apoleon's army, on the 25th of October, entered Bei-lin. 
The King of Prussia retired to Konigsberg to collect the 
scattered remains of his army, and the French, with little 
opposition, were allowed to take possession of Silesia. 

THE EUSSIAN- CAMPAIGN. 

France was now^ on the very frontier of Russia, and the 
Emperor Alexander saw the necessity of making one ffreat 



94: '■ FEANCO-PRUSSIAl!^ ^AR. 

effort to clieck the advance of the victorious soldiers of tiie 
empire, and to prevent them becoming masters of the en- 
tire continent of Europe. The campaign commenced on 
the 26th of September, 1806, with the indecisive battle of 
Pultusk, and was continued in February, 1808, bj repeated 
captures by both sides of the town of Eylau. At this place 
the Russians made the first successful stand against the 
French arms which had been done for years, and claimed a 
victory, whose results, however, they greatly exaggerated. 
It was not till the 14:th of June, the anniversary of the bat- 
tle of Marengo, that the decisive and sanguinary conflict of 
Friedland closed a protracted struggle by a signal victory 
for ]^apoleon. The later operations of the campaign had 
cost the Russians 40,000 men, twenty-seven generals, and 
1,848 officers killed and wounded. After an interview be- 
tween the Emperors of France and Russia and the King of 
Prussia, the Treaty of Tilsit was concluded, which changed 
still further the territorial distribution of Europe. Its prin- 
cipal articles were that the Prussian dominions on the east 
of the Elbe should be annexed to the new kingdom of 
Westphalia, that Prussian Poland should become subject to 
Saxony, and that the city of Dantzic, with the surrounding 
territory, should be restored to independence. On the part 
of Russia, it was agreed to recognize the Confederation of 
the Rhine, and that hostilities against Turkey should be im- 
mediately suspended. Thus was Prussia compelled to resign 
one-half of her territory and subjects, and more than one 
half of her revenues, while Russia was deprived of the pre- 
vious existing barrier against the ambition of I^apoleon. 

THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGNS. 

In November, 180Y, the French armies began to enter 
Spain. The Prince of the Asturias was induced to conspire 
against his father, Charles lY., and enjoyed a few months 
of royal dignity under the title of Ferdinand YII. In May, 



EUROPEAN WARS OF THE CENTURY. 95 

1S08, botli kings were compelled to sign their abdication, 
and to renounce all title to the throne, and Joseph Bona- 
parte, who had just resigned the Kingdom of Naples in 
favor of Joachim Murat, the husband of Caroline Bonaparte, 
received the vacant crown. At the end of 1807, the royal 
house of Braganza, which occupied the throne of Portugal, 
had been conveyed under British escort to Brazil, and the 
Peninsula was left to the occupation of the Imperial troops 
to the estimated number of 120,000 men. Spanish patriot- 
ism, however, was aroused at the spectacle of the compul- 
sory retirement of the native princes, and the whole country 
was soon ablaze with insurrection. The Spaniards fought 
as they had not done for centuries, and the soldiers of the 
empire received more reverses in a few months than they 
had done for years before. Portugal followed the example 
of Spain, and aided by the fleet of Great Britain and by 
arms supplied from the same source, the patriots became 
able to drive the French from several positions of impor- 
tance. About the end of July, 1808, Sir Arthur Wellesley, 
afterward Duke of Wellington, led 14,000 British troops into 
Portugal. Re-enforced by further arrivals from England, he 
sustained an attack by G-eneral Junot on his position at Yi- 
meira, and gained a victory which caused the French evac- 
uation of Portugal. The year 1809 witnessed in the Penin- 
sula a series of desultory engagements between the Imperial 
generals and the British troops, and an ill-organized strug- 
gle on the part of native patriots to regain possession of 
their country. A vigorous contest for the possession of Por- 
tugal commenced in the early portion of 1810, during 
which the military genius of Lord Wellington became still 
more conspicuous. The two following years witnessed a 
continuance of the protracted struggle, during which the 
battle of Barossa, the siege of Badajos, and the battle of 
Salamanca, yielded new trophies to the British arms, and 
added fresh luster to the military renown of their leader. 



96 FKANCO-PRUSSIxiN WAR. 

THE EXPEDITION TO ETJSSIA. 

Daring the Peninsular campaign of 1809, the Austrians 
seized the opportunity to make an effort to regain tlieir 
lost territories. The peace of Tilsit had left Prussia 
reduced by one-half, and the two feudatory kingdoms of 
Saxony and Westphalia were established as a counterpoise 
to the power of the house of Hohenzollern. Bavaria and 
Wurtemburg acted as a similar balance against Austria, 
while Russia, as yet comparatively untouched, was merely 
compelled to evacuate the Danubian principalities of Mol- 
davia and Wallachia. The Austrian campaign of 1809 
only resulted in a fresh occupation of Vienna by the French 
troops, and was ended by the sanguinary but indecisive 
battle of Wagram. The Emperor Francis was shorn of a 
few more provinces, and became more than ever subject to 
the dictation of Napoleon. ' Russia had to some extent 
profited by the territorial losses of her neighbors, and con- 
tinued up to 1812, in her character of ally of the French 
emperor. Her opposition was first excited by the disas- 
trous results which the commercial restrictions established 
by J^ai^oleon against Great Britain began to have upon her 
trade and national resources. Resistance to the ruler of 
Franco seemed at this period to be more than ever hazard- 
ous. He held Prussia in a species of vassalage ; the Con- 
federation of the Rhine was his own creation ; and he had 
repudiated the Empress Josephine to marry Maria Louisa, 
the daughter of the Emperor of Austria. In challenging 
hostilities with France, Russia had, therefore, to look to 
England only for support, with the questionable prospect of 
aid from the dissatisfied Bernadotte, whom Napoleon had 
himself placed on the throne of Sweden. Nevertheless, 
early in 1812, the preparations for a gigantic conflict com- 
menced. One division after another of the French army 
was marched through Germany ; the principal cities and- 



EUROPE AJq" WARS OF THE CENTURY. 97 

fortresses of Prussia were garrisoned with FrencL troops, 
and treaties of alliance were formed with Austria and Prus- 
sia, The Pussian emperor, on the other hand, ordered a 
levy, of two men in every live hundred thronghout his do- 
minions, and after coming to an understanding with Great 
Britain, awaited the onset of his formidable assailant. On 
the 6th of June, 1812, Napoleon crossed the Vistula, and, 
announcing bis determination of restoring the Kingdom of 
Poland, invited the Poles to rally round his standard. The 
Poles caught at the bait, and assembled a national diet to 
proclaim the re-establishment of their ancient monarchy. 
As he advanced into Pussia, Napoleon began to experience 
the effect of the tactics adopted by the enemy of burning 
and destroying every thing that lay in the path of the inva- 
ders. " Never," said Napoleon, " w^as a war prosecuted 
with such ferocity. These people treat their own country 
as if they were its enemies." Smolenkso, Yiazma, and Bo- 
rodino, became in turn the scene of sanguinary combats, 
follow^ed by a doubtful victory for the French, and by a 
continuous advance through a country that had been 
reduced to a desert. 

THE OCCUPATION OF MOSCOW. 

Repeated battles proved as disastrous to the strength of 

the Russians as to that of their enemies, and it was resolved 

to abandon Moscow to the invader. Two hundred thousand 

persons, of both sexes, and of all ages and conditions, were 

withdrawn from the doomed city, and Napoleon, looking at 

the spires and towers of the Kremlin, was shortly able to say, 

" All this is yours." The French thus obtained possession 

of a well-provisioned city, affording safe and comfortable 

winter-quarters, and their emperor looked forward to the 

subjection of Pussia by the opening of spring. But the 

retreating commander had left behind him men who were 

instructed how to act in this crisis of the fate of their coun- 
5 



98 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

try and of Europe. N"ow in one part of the city, and now 
in another, the terrible agency of flame was employed 
against the conqueror, and in spite of the combined eiforts 
of the soldiers, and the shooting at one time of two hun- 
dred of the incendiaries, Moscow was soon converted into a 
rolling sea of fire. " It was the most grand, the most sub- 
lime, and the most terrific sight the world ever beheld," 
and the desolation of the city was still further increased 
by the exasperated conqueror giving his soldiers an eight 
days' license to pillage what remained. By the end of 
October the French army was in full retreat, with their 
supplies cut off and their progress harassed on every side 
by the various bodies of Russian troops who hovered around 
the roads leading southward. By the first of December the 
rigor of the winter commenced, and the soldiers of the em- 
pire bad to face such hardships as have probably never been 
experienced in civilized warfare. Harassed by a sleepless 
enemy, deprived of regular supplies of food, and imperfectly 
clothed, the line of their retreat was marked by piles of 
dead bodies, and of the 300,000 to 400,000 men wbo had 
crossed the Bussian frontier a few months before, not more 
than 50,000 repassed them. 

EEVEESES IN GERMANY. 

The year 1813 was a fatal one for J^apoleon. With the 
retreat from Russia his star began to pale, and the princes 
who had heretofore waited at his beck began to perceive 
that his day was over, and to desert the power to wliich. 
many of them owed their existence. Brussia began the 
defection by uniting its arms with those of Russia and Eng- 
land, and Sweden shortly after followed suit. Yet the mil- 
itary genius of the emperor seemed at first as if it were to 
triumph over every obstacle. With an army chiefly com- 
posed of raw conscripts, he gained the battle of Lutzen, oc- 
cupied Dresden and carried the war to the banks of the Elbe. 



EUROPEAN WARS OF THE CENTURY. 99 

Austria endeavored bj a conference at Prague, to effect 
peace at this juncture. The terms proposed by the allies, 
that France should be bounded by the Ehine, the Alps and 
the Meuse, were disdainfully rejected, and the quarrel was 
once more submitted to the arbitrament of the sword. 
J^apoleon endeavored to drive the allies beyond the Elbe, 
and by the victory of Dresden seemed likely to succeed, but 
the successive defeats of his generals in bilesia, at Berlin, 
and at Kulm, deranged his plans, which were conclusively 
overthrown by the crushing defeat of Leipsic, in which the 
Prussians found their revenge for Jena. At Leipsic the 
Saxons and Wurtembergers passed over to the enemy on the 
field of battle, and the emperor was forced to retreat hastily 
toward the Rhine, only to find that the Bavarians, who had 
also revolted, wished to dispute the passage with him. On 
the 30th of October, 1813, his troops re-entered France, 
whose frontiers were menaced on the one side by the victo- 
rious British, who were crossing the Pyrenees from the 
Peninsula ; on another by the allies, who were advancing 
by way of Switzerland, and on a third by the Prussians, 
under Blucher, wdio were advancing by Frankfort. 

THE ALLIES IN PARIS. 

Hemmed in upon ever}^ side, Napoleon stood boldly at 
bay, and seemed at one time likely to break the cordon of 
troops that surrounded him. One general was sent to inter- 
cept the Swedes, then marching through Belgium, another 
to stop the Austrians at Lyons. Italy was defended by 
Prince Eugene, and the fortresses of Germany and the 
Rhine were still commanded by French garrisons. The 
Prussians, under Blucher, were approaching the capital. 
They were encountered on the Marne and defeated ; the 
Austrians, under Prince Schwartzenberg, were descending 
the Seine, when the emperor suddenly turned round and 
beat them also. But by and by the combination became 



100 FRANCO-PKUSSIAN WAR. 

too strong for him, and after a brave defense of the ap- 
proaches to Paris by Joseph Bonaparte, on the 31st March, 
1814, the French troops marched out, and the allies marched 
in ; the white flag of the Bourbons was once more set up ; 
the Senate declared that Napoleon had forfeited the throne, 
and the people and the army were absolved from their oath 
of fidelity to him. At Prague the emperor had been, of- 
fered the possession of France, within the Alps and the 
Rhine. "When the empire was invaded, the allies were 
disposed to concede the possession of the ancient monarchy 
only ; and now, on the 11th of April, 1814:, he was com- 
pelled to renounce for himself and his children the thrones 
of France and Italy, and to receive, in exchange for the 
dominion that had extended from Cadiz to the Baltic, the 
small island of Elba, situated in the Mediterranean, op- 
posite the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and forming a ter- 
ritory comprising a district sixty miles in circumference, 
and having a population of 14,000 inhabitants. 



Louis XYIII. had reigned but twelve months over a ter- 
ritory from which Belgium, Savoy, Nice, and Geneva had 
been shorn away, in which national pride had been deeply 
wounded, and where public disaffection became every day 
more difficult to repress, when the news went like an 
electric shock over Europe, that Napoleon had escaped from 
Elba, and with characteristic impetuosity was advancing 
upon Paris. Lyons received him with open arms early in 
March, the whole of Burgundy followed suit, regiment 
after regiment went over to his standard, and when 
Marshal Ney replied to the summons of his old com- 
mander, and carried over to him the array he had brought 
out to capture him, there was no choice but flight left 
for the Bourbons. Early on tlie morning of the 20th of 
March, 1815, King Louis went out, and late in the evening 



EUROPEAN AYAPcS OF THE CENTURY. Id 

of the same day IN'apoleoTi once more took possession of tlie 
Tiiileries. The Congress of Vienna found their labors for 
the re-distribution of Europe prematurely interrupted, and, 
before dissolving, they drew up a declaration, in which 
they maintained that by appearing again in France, Napo- 
leon Bonaparte had " deprived himself of the protection of 
the law, and has manifested to the universe that there can 
be neither peace nor truce with him." A treaty was im- 
mediately concluded between Great Britain, Austria, 
Prussia, and Russia, in which the contracting parties 
agreed to maintain and enforce the Treaty of Paris, which 
excluded Bonaparte from the throne, and to enforce the 
decree of outlawiy issued against him. Each of the con- 
tracting parties, moreover, agreed to keep constantly in the 
field an army of 150,000 men until these stipulations were 
accomplished, and until, by common consent, they should 
decide upon laying down their arms. 

PRELIMINARIES OF WATERLOO. 

These resolutions convinced IS^apoleon that no other 
course was open to him except to stake every thing upon 
one g-reat effort on the field of battle. The enthusiasm at 
Paris scarcely came up to his expectations, and tlie Senate 
seemed more disposed to bargain about a free constitution 
than to second his efforts to reorganize the army. On the 
1st of June the Imperial eagles were once more distributed 
by E^apoleon to his officers. On the 12th of June he left 
Paris on what he knew to be a struggle for existence, say- 
ing, as he threw himself into his carriage, " I go to measure 
myself with Wellington." The plan of battle adopted by 
Napoleon was to divide the forces of Wellington and 
Blucher, so that he could engage them separately. The 
former had his head-quarters at Brussels, and was in com- 
mand of about 70,000 troops, of which barely one-half were 
English, the remainder being German, Belgian, and Han- 



102 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

overian. Blucher was posted in tlie neighborhood of Liege, 
his men resting upon the rivers Sambre and Meuse. Bj 
the 15th June the entire French army was in rrtotion, ISTa- 
poleon himself advancing to the attack of the Prussian 
position, and Marshal Key being detached with 45,000 
men to drive the English from their position at Qiiatre 
Bras. In the battle of Lignj, fought on the 16th June, 
the Prussians lost 10,000 men, and were compelled to re- 
tire before the advance of the French troops. The British, 
with some difficulty, succeeded in maintaining their posi- 
tion at Quatre Bras, but on being apprised of the Prussian 
defeat at Ligny, Wellington ordered a retrograde movement 
toward Waterloo, in order to recover his communication 
with the Prussians, and to resume the united plan of opera- 
tions which Bluchers retreat had interrupted. 

THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 

On the afternoon of the 17th of June, 1815, the British 
and allied troops came on the field, and took up the posi- 
tion from which they wxre to contest the most momentous 
of all the battles of modern European history. Later in the 
evening, and during the morning of the 18th, l^apoleon 
brought up his army. The hostile forces were posted 
opposite to each other, on two lines of a chain of heights 
running nearly parallel with each other, and separated by 
a valley whose average breadth was half a mile. The num- 
ber on each side did not exceed 75,000 men. The action 
commenced shortly before noon, on the 18th of June, by a 
cannonade on the part of the French, w^hich was instantly 
followed by an attack, led by Jerome Bonaparte, on the old 
Flemish villa of Ilougoumont, which was held as an ad- 
vanced post by the troops of Nassau and a party of British. 
After a very severe contest, the post was left in posses- 
sion of the defenders, and a combined attack was made 
upon the British center. This ended disastrously for the 



EUROPEAN WARS OF THE CENTURY. 103 

French, but a body of British cavalry, having proceeded too 
flir in pursuit of the retiring column, were driven back with 
severe loss. Then followed the renowned attack of the 
French cuirassiers upon the infantry squares and artillery 
of the British right, an attack which, for dauntless resolu- 
tion and sustained and desperate courage, stands almost 
unequaled among the achievements of the armies of the 
First Empire. A succession of frantic charges, met by un- 
swerving and deadly resistance, soon reduced the finest 
cavalry of Europe to a mere handful of men, and deprived 
ISTapoleon of the only means by which he could have par- 
tially repaired the disastrous termination of the day. By 
bIx o'clock in the evening 25,000 men lay dead or dying on 
the field, but still the desperate conflict proceeded. Blu- 
cher was meanwhile forcing his way from Wavre, at a dis- 
tance of fourteen miles, in spite of the efforts of Marshal 
Grouchy, who had been detailed to intercept him. By half- 
past six the second division of tlie Prussian army had 
formed a communication with the left wing of the British, 
and it became apparent that a desperate effort must be 
made to turn the tide of battle before they should effectually 
decide the fortune of the day. The " Old Guard " had np 
to this moment taken no share in the battle. They re- 
mained during the day drawn up under Napoleon's own eye, 
near the French center. At seven o'clock they were placed 
under the command of the dauntless and unfortunate Ney 
and received orders to charge. For the last time the shout 
of vive V Emjpereur ! was heard from the soldiers of a hun- 
dred battles, and the Old Guard advanced before a continu- 
ous storm of shot and musketry, only to hopeless disorder 
and death. "All is lost for the present," said the emperor, 
and instantly riding off the field scarcely drew rein till he 
was close to the frontier of France. Blucher and his Prus- 
sians did the work of pursuit most thoroughly, driving the 
discomfited men from point to point with all that intensity 



104 FRANCO-PRUSSlAi^ WAR. 

of animosity wliicli both general and soldiers felt toward 
their French opponents. 

THE PEACE or PAEIS. 

Perpetual banishment to the solitary and rock-bound 
island of St. Helena, in the South Atlantic, ended the ca- 
reer of the man before whose name Europe had trembled 
for nearly a quarter of a century, and Louis XYIII. re- 
sumed his place on the throne of France. The treaty of 
Paris, signed on the 20th November, confirmed France 
within its present boundaries. The fortresses of Landau, 
Saarlouis, Philip ville, and Marienburg were ceded to the 
allies, besides seventeen of the principal towns and for- 
tresses of French Flanders, which were to be occupied by 
foreign troops for five years at the expense of France. A 
celebrated treaty, known as the Holy Alliance, was in 1815 
concluded between the sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and 
Prussia, by which, under certain very sacred and mysteri- 
ous phrases, it was supposed that these Powers united 
themselves for the repression of any revolutionary tenden- 
cies in their respective dominions. 

The desultory and protracted struggle relative to the 
succession to the Spanish throne, and consequent upon the 
will of Ferninand YIL, excluding his brother Don Carlos 
from the crown in favor of the infant Isabella, can scarcely 
merit the title of a European war. Neither can the 
French Revolution of 1830, which placed the house of Or- 
leans on the throne of France, nor that of 1848, which re- 
erected the Republic ; or, still again, the series of events 
which, in 1851-2, prepared the way for the Second Em- 
pire. 

THE EASTERN QUESTION. 

On the 2d of January, 1826, the Emperor Nicholas L 
ascended the throne of all the Russias. His accession was 



EUEOPEAIT WARS OF THE CENTURY. 105 

notified to foreign powers in these terms : " Called to the 
inheritance of the dominions of the Emperor Alexander, 
the Emperor Nicholas inherits also the principles which 
directed the policy of his august predecessor, and he pro- 
fesses the same fidelity to the engagements contracted by 
Russia, the same respect for all rights consecrated by ex- 
isting treaties, the same attachment to the maxims which 
insure the general peace, and of the bonds that subsist 
between the powers." In July, 1827, England and France 
signed with Russia the Treaty of London, binding all three 
to insure a settlement of Greek afiairs in Turkey. By the 
Treaty of Adrianople, made with Turkey in 1829, Russia 
obtained a considerable accession of territory on the Black 
Sea, and disregarded her pre-existing engagement with the 
Western Powers. Successive advances made by Russia in her 
protectorate of her Eastern neighbor, and particularly her 
endeavor to close up the Dardanelles to other nations, were 
viewed in Europe with increasing suspicion and alarm. 
Probably the true cause of the western jealousy of Russia 
was her immense and continuous acquisition of territory 
both in Europe and Asia, additions which, between 1722 
and 1850, almost doubled the area of her empire, and 
raised her population from 14,000,000 at the former date 
to 65,000,000 at the latter. In 1853 the Emperor ISTicholas, 
in pursuance of the traditionary policy of his house, showed 
a disposition to extend his protectorate over Turkey into 
actual occupation. Originating in a chronic dispute con- 
cerning the custody of the holy places at Jerusalem, a 
diplomatic quarrel between Russia and Turkey was fairly 
commenced in March, 1853. Matters were brought to a 
climax by the demand on the part of the Czar for the right 
to extend his " protectorate " over 11,000,000 of Christian 
subjects of Turkey. Supported' by England and France, 
the Sultan refused to accede to this demand, and the war, 
for which Russia had been for months steadily preparing, 

5* 



106 FR^iNCO-PRUSSIAN "WAR. 

was openly begun by the passage of her troops into the 
Danubian Principalities in July, 1853. 

In August, a few more regiments followed, making the 
first division of the army of occupation reach the number 
of 80,000 men. On the 4th of October, the Sultan issued 
liis declaration of war, and by the end of that month a 
Eussian army under Prince Gortchakoff, and a Turkish 
army under Omar Pasha, faced each other on opposite 
banks of the Danube. 

DANUBIAN CAMPAIGN. 

After a series of conflicts, which, with the exception of 
Citale, scarcely rose above the character of skirmishes, the 
first important operation of the campaign opened with the 
siege of Silistria, the chief town possessed by Turkey on the 
banks of the Danube. On the 14th of April the Russians 
had thrown up batteries of great power on the north bank 
of the river, and commenced the bombardment. Fifty thou- 
sand Russian troops were massed on tlie south shore, in 
addition to the batteries on the north, and the defenders of 
tlie city did not number over 10,000. Weeks passed away, 
during which a most tremendous cannonade, varied by fre- 
quent attacks and sorties, was maintained against the stub- 
bornly contested fortress. After more than a month, the 
Russian and Turkish commanders had an interview, in 
which the former stated, with a view to prevent a further 
effusion of blood, that he had positive orders that the place 
should be taken, and the latter replied that he had orders 
as positive that it must be defended, and that he would not 
surrender it even if he had but a thousand men and all Rus- 
sia was at the gates, headed by the Czar in person. On the 
23d June the Russians were compelled to retire, baffled, 
from their work, and the defense of Sih'stria became one of 
the most heroic episodes of a checkered conflict. By the 
treaty of the 14th June, 1854, the Emperor of Austria 



EUROPEAN WARS OF THE CENTURY. 107 

undertook to occupy the Danubian Principalities against 
Russia, and the interest of the war centered elsewhere. 

BEFORE THE CRIMEA. 

The bombardment of Sinope in ^N'ovember, 1853, which 
Russia claimed as a great victory, and the allies designated 
as a shameless massacre, roused the Western Powers from, 
the mediatory position they still endeavored to hold on the 
Eastern question. On the 4th of January, 1854, the Eng- 
lish and French fleets entered the Black Sea, a proceeding 
which put a stop to further negotiations. War was form- 
ally declared by France and England in March, 1854 — a 
war undertaken on the one side to preserve the balance of 
power in Europe by preventing Russia from absorbing Tur- 
key, and prosecuted on the other with the ostensible object 
of defending the orthodox faith against Mohammedan aggres- 
sion„ Austria and Prussia held aloof from the struggle, con- 
tenting themselves with entering into a treaty of alliance 
whereby they were bound to a defense of each other and of 
Germany generally, whether attacked by Russia or by Eng- 
land and France. The Mediterranean now became alive 
with transports and vessels of war, Gallipoli, Pera, and Scu- 
tari became centers for the rapidly collecting troops, and 
Yarna was transformed into one huge camp. Years of un- 
broken peace had rendered the British War Department 
the most incompetent in the world, and throughout the sum- 
mer of 1854 the movements of the troops formed a continu- 
ous series of blunders and delays. While time was being 
wasted in the construction of useless camps and in general 
inactivity by the allies, the Turks suffered a series of 
reverses in Asia, at Kars, Kurekdere, and elsewhere, which 
tended greatly to inspirit the Russians and to depress their 
opponents. The expedition of the combined fleet to the 
Baltic in 1854 only served to reveal the impotence of the 
war vessels then in use against the granite fortifications that 



108 FEANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

faced them at Cronstadt and elsewhere. The capture of 
Bomarsund formed the one slender victory of the Baltic 
fleet, whose fruitless cruise w^as productive of great discon- 
tent among the sanguine public, who had expected them to 
humble the pride of the Czar. 

THE CRIMEAN CAMPAIGN. 

At length, in the autumn of 1854, the allied armies 
were on their way to the Crimea, w^here it was hoped 
a vital blow might be struck at the supremacy of Russia in 
the Black Sea. Between the 14th and 18th September the 
allies, numbering over 60,000 men, landed within forty 
miles of the great fortress of Sebastopol, which they had 
come to reduce, and opened a campaign in w^hich privation 
and pestilence cut down far the greater number of victims. 
On the 20th September the Russians were found posted on 
the heights above the little river of the Alma, and prepared 
to dispute the further advance of the allies. Behind the 
earthworks in this strong position it was estimated that 
Prince Menschikoff had 45,000 to 50,000 men. The Rus- 
sian commander had claimed that he could hold sucli a posi- 
tion for three weeks against 100,000 men, but after a brief 
but decisive conflict he was compelled to evacuate the earth- 
works which he had considered almost impregnable. On 
the 25th of October the Russians to the number of 30,000 
men made a further stand at Balaklava — a battle forever 
memorable from the gallant and fatal charge made by the 
English light cavalry brigade upon the Russian guns. It 
seems very questionable whether this dearly-bought victory 
at all advanced the main purpose of the allies, the taking 
of Sebastopol, while the two battles of Inkerman which 
followed it, and success in which were found no less costly, 
could only have occurred from an entire misapprehension of 
the topography of the great fortress now under siege. 
During the winter of 1854, Sebastopol became the center of 



EUEOPEAN WxiRS OF THE CENTURY. 109 

a formidable line of intrenchraents behind which cold and 
disease were more fatal than the guns of the enemy. The 
spring of 1855 came, and still the investment continued 
without gaining any very decisive advantage. The fleets 
continued the bombardment, and the land force made one 
gallant attempt after another to storm the outlj'ing defenses, 
with but indifferent success. At length, however, early in 
September, nearly a year after their first arrival, the com- 
bined assault by the allies commenced, and after a series of 
gallant captures of the Eedan, the Malakoff, and other forts, 
the welcome news became knowm to the 200,000 men of 
Britain, France, Turkey, and Sardinia, who were posted 
around Sebastopol, that the great citadel had at length 
fallen. On the day before the final capture, 20,000 men of 
besiegers and besieged had fallen ; the year's siege had 
involved the construction of seventy miles of trenches, and 
during that time 1,500,000 shells and shot had been fired 
into the town from the mortars and cannon of the besiegers, 
and the entire loss of men during these operations was 
probably not short of a quarter of a million. Driven from 
the south side of Sebastopol, the Eussian general resolved 
to hold the northern heights, and, calling for, and obtaining 
fresh levies of men, he maintained himself during the win- 
ter of 1855-56 opposite the allied troops, who faced him on 
the southern section of the fortress, which was divided by a 
deep arm of the sea from the town and ramparts on the 
north. In March, 1856, the diplomatists assembled at 
Paris, with a view to discuss the basis of an armistice, and 
with April came the cessation of hostilities and a treaty of 
peace. It required, however, nearly twelve months of 
negotiations at Vienna and at Paris to arrange the basis of 
a lasting peace ; and, after all, the thirty-four articles of the 
treaty left things very much as they were before the opening 
of the war, with the exception, perhaps, that Eussia's plans 
of aggrandizement were proved to have been premature. 



110 FRANCO-PRUSSIAJSr WAE. 



AUSTRIA AND THE HOUSE OF SAYOT. 

The policy of armed neutrality followed by Austria during 
the Russian war, was not forgotten by at least one of the 
Great Powers engaged in it, nor was the alliance of the little 
Kingdom of Sardinia in that struggle destined to be without 
result ill the territorial future of Europe. On 'New Year's 
Day, 1859, the French emperor let fall a few significant 
expressions in his public reception of the embassadors of 
foreign powers, that convinced the world of the imminence 
of a stniggle between France and Austria. It had been 
the traditional policy of the House of Savoy to extend the 
boundaries of Sardinia to the east and south, and to aim at 
the erection of a kingdom comprehending northern Italy, 
with a future view^ to the acquisition of the entire peninsula. 
The overthrow of Charles Albert in 1848 put a stop to his 
projects in this direction, but his son, Yictor Emmanuel, 
inherited his policy and his determination, and only waited 
the occasion to carry it into efi'ect. This disposition on the 
part of the King of Sardinia was a source of endless dis- 
turbance among the dissatisfied Italian subjects of Austria, 
and gave rise to frequent acts which the Emperor Francis 
Joseph chose to consider as demanding either diplomatic or 
armed interference. Great Britain proposed a conference 
with a view to averting hostilities, but, as a preliminary, 
Austria insisted that Sardinia should disarm. The demand 
was refused, and on the 28th of April, 1859, a declaration 
of war was issued by Austria and her troops ordered to 
enter Sardinia. On the 1st of May, France announced her 
intention of supporting her ally, and of " preventing a blow 
being struck which would establish at the foot of the Alps 
contrary to the wish of a friendly nation and to the wish of 
the sovereign, a state of things which would subject the 
whole of Italy to a foreign influence." " The passes of 
the Alps," said the document, " are not in our hands, and 



EUEOPEAN WARS OF THE CENTURY. HI 

it is most important for iis that the key should be kept at 
Turin, and at Turin only." 

EUROPEAN ASPECT OF THE STRUGGLE. 

When the conflict between France and Austria was seen 
to be inevitable, the most extreme complications w^ere, on 
i^ood authority, predicted as about to result from it. It was 
said that an otfeusive and defensive alliance had been formed 
between France and Russia, and that between them they 
aimed at nothing less than reconstructing the map of 
Europe. The terms of the compact were even defined to 
be a restoration of Savoy to France, and the resuming of 
her ancient boundary ; Sardinia was to annex Lombardy, 
and Russia was to take the Waldo-Wallachian provinces, 
By and by the exaggerated nature of these rumors was dis- 
covered, but the opening of the campaign found Europe 
still possessed by the gravest apprehensions. Russia certainly 
did stipulate to place a heavy army upon the frontier of 
Germany, ready to interfere, should the States of the Con- 
federation interfere in behalf of Austria. England and 
Prussia began to draw more closely together, and kept 
rapidly increasing their armaments, in order to be ready 
for the very grave emergency. Austria defended her posi- 
tion on the ground that " Lombardy was during many cen- 
turies a fief of the German empire, and that she had 
received Yenice in exchange for ner Belgian provinces." 
" The second French empire," said the Austrian minister, 
" is about to realize the long- cherished ideas, for the throned 
power in Paris has informed the astonished world that 
' political wisdom ' will replace those treaties which have so 
long formed the basis of European international law. The 
traditions of the first Napoleon have been resuscitated, and 
Europe is not ignorant of the importance of the struggle 
which is about to begin." 



1 12 FKANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

THE CAMPAIGN IN SAEDINIA. 

On the lOtli of May, 1859, ]N"apoIeon III. left Paris ; on 
the J 2th he arrived in Genoa, and on the 15th he arrived 
at Alessandria, where certain divisions of the allied armies 
vv^ere in position. The first battle of tlie campaign was 
fonght at Montebello, on the 20th of Mav, by the allied 
armies, numbering 6,300 men, under General Forey, 
against 25,000 Austrian troops under Count Stadion. 
The latter were driven from the position occupied by 
them in the village which gave the name to the battle ; 
and, though for some time insisting that they had come off 
victorious, the honors of the day were unquestionably 
found to rest with the allies. On the 21st May the passage 
of the Resin was made by a division of the Franco-Sar- 
dinian army in the face of the fierce opposition of the Aus- 
trians. On the 31st of May the allies, under the command 
of Victor Emmanuel, attacked the Austrians, who had en- 
deavored to retake the position occupied by them at Pa- 
laestro. The Austrians retired, with a loss of 1,250 men. 
On the next day the conflict was renewed, with a similar 
result. Meanwhile Garibaldi had commenced his series of 
brilliant snccesses in Lombardy. At the head of a body of 
raw, ill-disciplined volunteers the old apostle of Italian 
unity achieved victoiw after victory against the trained 
soldiers of the enemy — victories to which the enthusiasm 
and patriotisrii which the hero of Caprera managed to in- 
spire into his troops contributed in no slight degree. The 
last week of May saw General Garibaldi drive the Aus- 
trians from North Lombardy, and gain, by the possession 
of Co mo, the command of the entire province. 

THE VICTOEIES OF JUNE. 

On the 3d of June the Austrians began to evacuate Sar- 
dinia, and meanwhile the French force assembled at Ales- 



EUROPEAN" WARS OF THE CENTURY. 113 

saudria had begun to act on the ofiensive. The emperor 
caused the Ticino to be crossed by a corps under General 
McMahon on the 4th of June. They were immediately 
attacked by the Austrians, whom they victoriously repulsed. 
On tlie 4th a general movement was made by the French 
troops to occupy the left bank of the Ticino. The Aus- 
trians, finding that tlie passage had been surprised, sent 
across the river three of the army corps, who burnt tlie 
bridges behind them. On the morning of the 4th they 
went before the emperor to the number of 125,000, and 
attempted to bar his march toward the village of Magenta. 
A desperate struggle ensued, which was shortly transferred 
to the village itself, and at half-past eight in the evening the 
French remained masters of the field, and claimed to have 
placed 20,000 of the enemy hors du co?7iI}af.,he^ides securing 
on the field of battle 12,000 muskets and 30,000 knapsacks. 
Thus was Piedmont cleared of the Austrians, and the gates 
of Milan opened to the allies. The people of that city 
immediately rose upon the Anstrians. Yictor Emmanuel 
was declared king, and Lombardy was annexed to Sardinia. 
On the 7th of June the emperor and king entered Milan. 
On the 9th the victory of Melegnano was gained by Gen. 
Baraguay D'Hilliers, and, after a series of successes in the 
north by Garibaldi, preparations began to be made for the 
decisive battle which was to decide the fate of Italy. On 
the 23d of June the Austrians repassed the Mincio in force, 
and occupied the positions of Pozzalenga, Solferino, and 
Cavriano. On the morning of the 24th of June Francis 
Joseph was in command of 250,000 troops, and awaited the 
attack of the allied armies, numbering, it is said, onlv 
150,000. Shortly after sunrise the assault was begun upon 
the Austrian position in the hills behind the town of Cas- 
tiglione. The French, after a desperate and stubbornly 
contested conflict, succeeded in driving them into the small 
villages on the plains below. Step by step the ground 



114 FRAKCO-PEUSSIAN' WAR. 

was fonglit for by the Austrians, and as the day advanced 
the struggle became concentrated around the village of 
Solferino. About five o'clock in the afternoon, when the 
cannonade was at its height, a storm of rain and thunder 
and lightning broke over the combatants but delayed not 
the unflagging course of the protracted fight, and it was not 
until nine in the evening, after a conflict of sixteen hours, 
that the battle was over, and one of the most brilliant 
victories of modern times was gained by tlie Franco-Sar- 
dinian army. Of killed and wounded a spectator of the con- 
flict puts down the French loss at 20,000 men, while that of 
the Austrians could not have been less than twice that num- 
ber. 

THE PEACE OF VILLAFEANCA. 

After «a continuance of hostilities without any very 
decided engagement, Napoleon III. and Francis Joseph 
had an interview at Yillafranca, and there arranged, to 
the great surprise of the powers who were anxiously 
watching the conflict, the preliminaries of peace. The 
basis of the treaty was the resignation of Lombardy to 
the French emperor, who agreed to make it over to Yictor 
Emmanuel, and the retention of Venetia by Austria, although 
it was agreed that that province should form part of the 
contemplated Italian Confederation, which was to be placed 
under the honorary presidency of the Pope. Italy was not, 
therefore, yet ^' free from the Alps to the Adriatic," and 
the Italians were not a little disappointed at what they con- 
sidered an inconclusive issue of the contest. The Venetians 
vigorously protested against being left to the tender mer- 
cies of Austria, and addressed to the great Sardinian 
premier, Cavour, a vigorous remonstrance to that effect. 
Italian unity was, however, destined, a few years later, to 
receive assistance from a somewhat unexpected source. 
Humbled in Italy, Austria was destined to a still deeper 
humiliation on her own proDer territory of Bohemia. 



europea:^' wars of the century. 115 



THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN WAR. 

Tlie events of Germany in 1866 would be but imper- 
fectly understood without a reference to the question of 
the Elbe Ducliies, which for a time united two Powers, 
shortly after to be engaged in deadly strife, in an alliance 
of apparent cordiality. Amid all the endless complica- 
tions of this unintelligible quarrel, this much is clearly 
defined, that the territory of Schleswig-Holstein ]iad come 
by a sort of mutual agreement to form part of the Kingdom 
of Denmark ; that nevertheless the advance of commerce 
began to draw it closer to Germany, from which it was 
divided by a purely imaginary frontier, and to which it 
was impelled by a powerful element of German-speaking 
population. Hence it came that the cause of Schleswig- 
Holstein was taken up as the cause of the fatherland, and 
the two leading powers of Germany yielded, or appeared 
to yield, in 1864: to the unanimous and enthusiastic desire 
of the people when they took up arms to right the alleged 
wrong suffered by the Germans in the Duchies at the 
hands of Denmark. The war, such as it was, formed a 
mere driving back of the Danes from the fortified position 
held by them, by sheer weight of men and metal. After 
completing the joint occupation by the peace of Yienna, 
of the 30th October, 1864, the jurists and cabinets of Ger- 
many were greatly exercised over the legal and constitu- 
tional rights of the question. When the proceeding of 
electing a German ruler was fi.rst mooted, Prussia treated 
it with coldness, while Austria favored the claims of the 
Prince of Augustenburg. The Prussian crown jurists had 
declared, in October, 1865, after a nine months' inquiry, 
that the joint sovereignty was vested in Austria and Prussia, 
and that if the Prince of Augustenburg ever had any 
claim to the allegiance of the Duchies, it had ceased with 
the peace of Vienna. In January, 1866, Count Bismarck 



IIG FEANCO-PRUSSIAN WAE. 

announced to the Austrian cabinet tliat the encouragement 
given by them to the adherents of the royal pretender to 
the Duchies was regarded by Prussia as an aggressive act, 
which it had a right to guard against. The Austrian 
government replied by vindicating their right to take an 
independent stand on such a question, which Prussia chose 
to answer, just then, in an evasive mariner. 

PEELIMmAKIES OF SADOWA. 

Disturbed by the enigmatical policy of Prussia, Austria 
beo;an to arm. On the 24th of March Prussia informed the 
minor German States that, impelled by the armaments of 
her neighbor, she must prepare for the defense of Silesia, 
and must also endeavor to obtain guaranties for the 
future, which it was vain to expect from her alliance with 
Austria. Military preparations having proceeded on both 
sides for some time, both powers were shortly pkmged into 
a dispute as to who had begun to arm first, and at length, 
on the 18th April, Austria agreed to the Prussian demand 
to begin again to disarm, on the condition that the other 
power would follow, step by step. In the mean time, an 
offensive and defensive alliance had been concluded between 
Prussia and Italy ; and when Austria insisted on the neces- 
sity of making preparations for the defense of Yenetia, 
although disarming in Bohemia, Count Bismarck replied 
that the disarmament must be general. The haughty 
withdrawal of Prussia from the meeting of the Federal 
Diet, at Frankfort, and new negotiations early in May on 
the Schleswig-Holstein difficulty, did not improve the 
relative positions of the two German powers. Matters 
were brought to a climax when at the sitting of May 9th, 
of the Federal Diet, Austria announced that her repre- 
sentative in Ilolstein had been instructed to convoke the 
Estates, in order to hear the wishes of the population of the 
Duchies as to their ultimate disposal. The Prussian 



EUROPEAN WARS OF THE CEMTURY. 117 

general in Sclileswig was ordered to march his troops 
into Holstein as soon as the Austrian governor should 
convoke the Estates. This was done and the Austrians, 
not being strong enough to resist, retired from their joint 
occupancy. At the meeting of the Federal Diet of June 
11th, Prussia was charged with having disturbed the Fed- 
eral peace, and on. the motion of Austria, it was resolved, 
June llth, to mobilize the entire Federal force, with the 
exception of the Prussian contingent. 



Immediately after the Federal declaration, Hanover, 
Hesse-Cassel, and Saxony were occupied by the Prussian 
troops, resulting in but one insignificant collision with 
the army of Hanover. The rapid occupation of the King- 
dom of Saxony followed, and the Prussians began an 
advance with about 160,000 men into the Austrian ter- 
ritory of Bohemia. To meet this force, the Austrian 
general, Benedek, had mustered 190,000 men, and the 
South German contingent of 150,000 men was daily 
expected. On the 30th June King William took command 
of his combined forces at Keichenberg. It was intended 
to give the troops a few days' rest, but on 2d July it became 
evident from the movements of General Benedek that an 
immediate attack was meditated by the Austrians. On 
the morning of the 13th July it was resolved to anticipate 
the Austrian general by being the first to assume the 
offensive, and Prince Frederick Charles advanced with the 
second army at 5 o'clock against the enemy. The fir^t 
army commenced the attack at 8 o'clock, near the village 
of Sadowa, and at 10 o'clock the army of the Elbe ad- 



vanced against the Austrians from Yechanstz. These were 
however, still much inferior to the number of the Austrians 
and it was not till the arrival of the vanguard of the array 
of the Crown Prince at 1 o'clock that victory began to 



118 FEA:N'C0-PRUSSIA¥ wae. 

appear certain. The superiority of the Prussian fire-arrns 
had greatly contributed to bring about the result, devas- 
tating as they did, the solid columns of the enemy, and leav- 
ing the Prussians comparatively unscathed. By 4 o'clock, 
the Austrians were in full retreat, closely pursued by their 
foes. The total loss of the Austrians was estimated at 
40,000 men ; that of the Prussians at 10,000. Petreating 
to the left bank of the Elbe, the Austrians continued to 
fall back with a view to protect the capital. Another con- 
flict ensued in the neighborhood of Olmutz, ending also 
disastrously for the Austrians, and as the Prussians ad- 
vanced, there seemed eYerj probability of their occupying 
Yienna without serious opposition. 

THE PEACE OF NIKOLSBUKG. 

On the 17th of July, the quarters of the King of Prussia 
were established at JN'ikolsburg, and he was met by the 
French embassador, Benedetti, who was instructed by 
his government to make efforts to bring about a peace. 
The cabinet of Vienna was now convinced of its unreadi- 
ness to cope with Prussia ; it had, moreover, a conflict 
w^ith Italy to sustain, and the Hungarian Legion, under 
Klapka, was just then preparing for hostilities. 

TREATY OF PEAGIJE. 

On the 21st July an armistice of five days w^as agreed on, 
before the termination of which the basis of the final treaty 
of Prague was mutually agreed upon. The most important 
stipuhitions in that agreement were that the Lombardo- 
Yenetian kingdom should be united with Italy, that the 
hitherto existing Germanic Confederation should be dis- 
solved, and a new organization of Germany formed without 
the participation of the Austrian Empire ; that all rights to 
the Elbe Duchies should be transferred to the King of 
Prussia, and that Austria should pay forty millions of 



BRITISH EMPIRE. 119 

Prussian dollars toward tlie cost incurred by Prussia for 
the war. Separate treaties were concluded with the South 
German States, eacli being assessed in proportionate sums 
to reimburse the Prussian treasury. 

Such, briefly sketched, have been the chief national strug- 
gles and territorial changes of Europe during the present 
century. The series that began with the Napoleonic wars 
has not yet closed, but standing as we do upon the 
threshold of a struggle, whose magnitude may exceed any 
thing that Europe has yet witnessed, it would be premature 
to speculate upon the distribution of power at the close 
of a century which opened a vista of such endless and unex- 
pected change. 



BRITISH EMPIRE. 

The British Empire comprehends two great divisions : 
1st, The British Isles, or what is commonly called the 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; 2d, Col- 
onies and dependencies ; containing an aggregate area of 
about 8,356,781 square miles, with a population of about 
208,000,000. 

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland com- 
prises an area of 120,879 English square miles, with a pop- 
ulation (1861) of 29,321,288. 

The government is a constitutional monarchy, or limited 
hereditary monarchy, in which the executive power is' 
lodged in the sovereign, but controlled in its exercise by 
the legislative power. The legislative power is vested in 
the Parliament, which consists of the House of Lords and 
the House of Commons. The House of Lords is composed 
of lords temporal (blood royal), British peers, representative 
peers not British, and of lords spiritual, and who (with the 
exception of four without seats) sit for life. The House 



120 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

of Commons is composed of six liiindred and fiftj-eight 
mem.bers, elected for one Parliament, which expires legally 
in seven years, but generally sooner. Its members are 
arranged as follows : England — 40 counties, 144 members ; 
2 universities, 4 members; 186 cities and boroughs, 323 
members; total, 471 ; Wales — 12 counties, 15 members; 
57 cities and boroughs, 14 members; total, 29; Scotland 
— 33 counties, 30 members ; 76 cities and boroughs, 23 
members ; total, 53 ; Ireland — 32 counties, 64 members ; 
1 university, 2 members ; 33 cities and boroughs, 39 mem- 
bers ; total, 105 ; — grand total, 658. 

The present ruler is Queen Victoria I., born in 1819, 
crowmed in 1838. The heir apparent is Albert Edward, 
Prince of Wales, born Kov., 1841, and married March, 
1863, to the Princess Alexandra, oldest daughter of the 
present King of Denmark. 

Public Kevenue, (in '67) £69,434,567 15s. 9d. = $336,- 
063,308. 

Public or JSTational debt, £777,497,804 = $3,763,089,^ 
371.36, 

AKMY. 

The army in 1869 consisted of 139,163 men, divided as 
follows : — 

Regiments of General Army. — Officers of General Staff, 
7; Com. officers, 6,509 ; Non-Com. officers, 12,107; men 
110,885. 

' Depots of Indian regiments, including horse- artillery 
royal artillery, and infantry : Com. officers, 392 ; Non-Corn 
officers, 974; men, 8,412;. 

Kecruiting and other establishments : Com. officers, 132 
Non-Com. officers, 267 ; men, 76. 

Training schools: Com. officers, 32 ; Non-Corn, officers, 
236 ; men, 10. 

Besides these, the British army in India comprises 65,- 



BRITISH EMPIRE. 121 

287 men, of whom there are : Com. officers, 3,615 ; Non- 
Corn, officers, 5,306 ; men, 56,336. 

The total volunteer force enrolled (in 1869), was 162,- 
681 : of which there are ; light-horse, 662 ; artillery, 23,363 ; 
engineers, 2,904 ; mounted rifles,6r)6 ; rifle volunteers, 134,- 
096. 

The number of enrolled militia to be called up for twen- 
ty-one days' training, is stated as 128,971 men. 

NAVY. 

There were in commission at the beginning of the year 
(1 869), 152 vessels, all steamers, as follows : — Line-of-battle 
ships, 4 ; Iron-clads, 16 ; Frigates and Corvettes, 34 ; 
Sloops of war, etc., 98. 

Of gunnery, training-ships, etc., there were 41 sail- 
ing vessels, and 57 steamers ; also 10 steamers of coast- 
guard service, and 41 sailiug vessels, and 18 steamers em- 
ployed as tenders, making the whole number in commis- 
sion as follows : sailing vessels, 88 ; steamers, 237. 

There were afloat (in 1869), naval vessels of all sorts, 452 
vessels, and 22 (all steamers, and all but 1, screw propel- 
lers) building, making in all afloat and building 474, of 
which only one-half were in commission ; of these, 33 now 
afloat and 4 buildins: were armor-plated (with ten-inch iron 
and ^even-inch w^ood) and were of third rate ; the remainder 
are of fourth or sixth rates, sloops, gun-boats, or floating 
batreries. 436 of the 474 were steamers, and no new sail- 
ing vessels were building, while those already built, 29 of 
38 were mortar vessels and floats, and 7 were old-fash- 
ioned frigates, 1 a ship of the line, and 1 a sloop of war. 

Of the armor-clad ships, 6 were of 6,000 tuns or more^ 
10 of 4,000 tuns or more, 4 of 3,700 tuns or more, and the 
rem.ainder of various sizes, from 2,900 tuns down. 

The three largest ships in the navy, are the Minotaur, 



122 FEANCO-PRUSSIAIT WAR. 

Aginconrt, and ISTorthumberlaiid, driven by engines of 1,350 
horse-power. 

There are 37,015 seamen, 7,418 boys, and 16,400 marines 
employed in the fleet, making an aggregate of 60,833 ; 
and 2,950 seamen and 450 boys afloat, and 4,300 officers 
and men ashore of the coast guard, making a total of 
77,700. 

The English have now 35 iron-clad vessels either at sea 
or ready for it, and five more could be added to this 
number in less than three months — 40 in all. Others, of 
course, are building or launched, such as the Sultan, Auda- 
cious, Invincible, Iron Duke, Yanguard, etc., and could soon 
be got ready. Still, in number, she would have five vessels 
less than the French, though in actual fact the fleet would 
be as one hundred to fifty, in consequence of greater size, 
speed, strength, and armament. The average speed of the 
wdiole English fleet is as nearly as possible twelve knots, 
the highest, the Agin court, being fourteen and a half knots, 
and the lowest, the Yixen 8.894. Only four vessels in the 
list — the Enteryjrise, Vixen, Water-witch, and Yiper, which 
are mere gun-boats, though armored and carrying heavy 
guns — are smaller than those in the French navy. Class for 
class, they immensely exceed the French in tonnage, thick- 
ness of armor, and number and weight of guns. The dif- 
ference, on the whole, of the two lists may be represented 
between France and England as five to eight. 



EUSSIA. 

Russia comprises an area of 7,860,000 square miles, with 
a population of 77,008,446, and is probably the most ex- 
tensive empire of ancient or modern times. It is bounded 
on the north by the Arctic Ocean ; west by Sweden, the 
Baltic Sea, Prussia, Austria, and Moldavia ; south by the 



EUSSIA. 123 

Black Sea, Asiatic Turkey, Persia, Independent Tartarj, 
the Chinese Empire, and the Pacific ; and east by the 
Pacific Ocean. Its possessions are — 

1. Great Russia, 6. Finland, 

2. Little Russia, 7. Kozan, 

3. South Russia, 8. Astrakhan, 

4. West Russia, 9. Poland. 

5. Baltic Provinces, 

The government is an absolute monarcbj. 

The administration consists of an Imperial Council, 
divided into five departments : legislative, military, civil, 
ecclesiastical, and financial ; each department consists of 5 
members. 

The present emperor, or czar, is Alexander II., with 
title of Samoderzhets, or Autocrat, born April 29, 1818, 
and succeeded his father March 2, 1855. The heir apparent 
is the Grand Duke Alexander, married to the Princess 
Maria Dagmar, daughter of the King of Denmark. 

Kevenue (as per budget of 1869) is 482,000,000 rubles. 

Public debt (1867) is 1,809,944,693 rubles. 

Army consists of 

Officers 30,507 

•716 Battalions Infantry 538,877 

583 Squadrons Cavalr}^ 63,440 

200 Batteries of Artillery (2,000 guns) 80,172 

Engineers 14,683 

727,679 men 

Or nominally, on peace-footing, 800,000 men. 

The army in time of war is divided into Eegular and 
''Irregular" troops. The latter, in time of war, consist (in 
addition to the above) of 132 regiments and 24 battalions, 
with 200 guns. 

The ratio of soldiers to population is, 

In peace 1 to 500 males, 
In war 3 to 500 males. 



124 FEANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 



NAVY.' 



Iron-clads. 

Frigates 

Monitors 


Vessels. 

11 
14 

25 

260 
59 

344 


Horse-power. 

5,510 
2,320 

•7,830 
29, •750 / 


Tons. 

43,28t 
21,029 


Guns. 

124 
61 


Other vessels. 
Steamers 
Sailing vessels 


64,316 
145,619 
209,935 


185 
1,993 




37,580 


2,178 




AUSTEIA. 





The Austrian Empire comprises an area of 249,048 
square miles, with a population of about 35,000,000. It is 
divided into two portions, tlie cLief frontier of which is the 
river Leitha : Cis-Leithan (western), and Trans-Leithan 
(eastern) ; the former is called Austria proper, and the lat- 
ter Hungary — both being officially designated under one 
head — the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 

CIS-LEITHAN PROVINCES (AUSTRIA PEOPEr). 

1. Lower Austria, 8. Tyrol and Torarlberg^ 

2. Upper Austria, 9. Bohemia, 

3. Salzburg, 10. Moravia, 

4. Styria, 11. Silesia, 

5. Carintbia, 12. Galicia, 

6. Carniola, 13. Bukovina, 

7. Goertz-Gradisca, Istria and Trieste, 14. Dalmatia. 

The aggregate population of the Cis-Leithan provinces, 
with army, etc., is about 20,000,000. 

* In 1860 she had in the Baltic and Black seas — 60 ships of the line from 
70 to 120 guns; 37 frigates from 40 to 60 guns; 70 corvettes, brigs, etc. f 
40 steamers; nominally carrying 4,000 guns; 42,000 seamen and 200,000 
marines and artillerymen, besides a large number in the Caspian and 
Okhotsk seas and other waters. According to this statement there must 
have been a large reduction in number, with increase of first-class vessels. 



AUSTRIA. 125 

TKANS-LEITHAJSr PEOVINCES (hUNGAEy). 

15. Hungary, 11. Transylvania, 

16. Croatia and Slavonia, The Military Frontier. 

The aggregate population with army, etc., is about 
15,000,000. 

The government of Austria is a constitutional monarchy, 
the legislative department of which is vested in the em- 
peror and two houses of parliament. The Upper House con- 
tains 11 princes of the imperial house, 66 hereditary mem- 
bers, who are chiefs of noble families, 9 archbishops, and 7 
others having the rank of bishops, and 77 members ap- 
pointed by the emperor for life. 

The House of Eepresentatives, consists of 203 members 
sent by the Provincial Diets. 

In the budget for 1868, the receipts and expenditures 
were as follows : — 

Expenditures 110,968,090 florins. 

Eeceipts 10,610,900 " 

Of the remaining deficit, 100,357,190 " 
the Cis-Leithan Provinces furnished 70 per cent., and the 
Trans-Leithan 80 per cent. 

The provinces lost by Austria in Italy were Yenetia and 
Lombardy, which now form a part of the Italian kingdom. 

The present ruler is Emperor Francis Joseph, born August 
30, 1830, and succeeded his uncle Ferdinand I. (as King of 
Hungary and Bohemia, called Ferdinand Y.) on December 
2, 1848. 

THE AUSTRIAN ARMY. 

According to official returns, Austria possessed at the 
commencement of last year, a standing army numbering 
278,479 men on the peace- footing, and 883,700 on the war- 
footing, organized as follows: — 



126 FRANCO-PPwUSSIAN WAR. 

Troops of Standing Army. Peace. War. 

Infantry. 
80 regiments of line, each composed of 3 field 
battalions, 2 reserve battalions, and 1 depot 

battalion 121,840 485,440 

12 military frontier regiments, 6 of 3, and 8 of 
4 battalions 12,307 53,823 

1 regiment or " Kaiser-jager " of Tyrol, and 33 

battalions of " Feld-jager ". 20,251 54,463 

12 companies of ambulance and hospital ser- 
vice 1,180 3,816 

Total of infantry 155,578 597,602 

Cavalry. 
14 regiments of dragoons, 12 heavy and 2 
light ; 14 regiments of hussars, and 2 regi- 
ments of lancers 35,793 58,794 

Total of cavalry 35,793 58,794 

Artillery. 

12 regiments of field artillery, each of 14 bat- 
teries of 8 pieces 17,880 43,836 

12 battalions of fortress and 2 battalions of 
mounted artillery 7,778 ] 8,938 

Total of artillery 25,658 62,774 

Engineers and train. 

2 regiments of "Genie," each of 4 battalions. . 4,662 13,240 

1 regiment of pioneers of 5 battalions 2,803 7,747 

54 regiments of " Fuhrwesen " or train 2,401 24,147 

Total of engineers and train 9,866 45,134 

Miscellaneous establishments. 

Military instruction 2,234 2,234 

Topographical survey 128 128 

Commissariat and clothing department 3,705 7,200 

Sanitary department 1,291' 6,200 

Arsenals, military stores, and buildings 3,000 4,500 

Army studs 5,800 5,800 

Military police and gendarmes 7,700 7,700 

Total of miscellaneous establishments 23,858 3R,762 

Total, inclusive troops of reserve 278,470 838,700 

The general staif of the army, on native service in 1869, 
comprised three Field-Marshals, eighteen Generals of Infan- 
try (Feldzengraeister) and Generals of Cavalry ; seveiity- 
tvs^o Generals of Division, and 111 Generals of Brigade. 



AUSTRIA. 127 

There were besides, non-active, twenty-eiglit Generals of 
Infaiitry and Generals of Cavalry, 150 Generals of Divi- 
sion, and 190 Generals of Brigade. The Austrian com- 
manders are as follows : 

1. Vienna, Baron del Monte. 8. Innsbruck, : 

2. Gratz, Marshal de John. 9. Zara (Dalmatia), Marshal de 

3. Prague, Prince de Montenuovo. Wagner. 

4. Leraberg, Marshal Neipperg. 10. Hermannstadt, Marshal de 

5. Ofen, Marshal Jacobs de Kant- Rodich. 

stein. 11. Veterwardein, Marshal "We- 

6. Agram, Irinse Dictrichstein. ber. 
1. Brun, Baron de Ramming de 

Reidkirchen. ^ 

By the terms of the " compromise " come to between 
Austria and Hungary on which was based a new army 
organization, which came into operation last year, the mili- 
tary forces of the whole em.pire are divided into the stand- 
ing army, the Landwehr or militia, and the Landsturm. 
The regiments of tbe standing army are under the control 
of the minister of war of the empire, and the Landwehr 
under the control of Austrian and Hungarian ministers. 
All orders relating to great concentrating movements of 
troops must emanate from the emperor, who is the supreme 
chief of the whole of the military forces of the empire. 

The standing army is formed by conscription, to which 
every man is liable who has reached his 20th year. The 
term of service is ten years, three of which the soldier must 
spend in active service, after which he is enrolled for the 
remaining seven years in the army of reserve. Quite dis- 
tinct from the standing army is the Landwehr, the term of 
service in which is twelve years, but with duties limited to 
the respective divisions of the empire from which it is 
drawn. The entry into the Landsturm, or general levy, is 
compulsory only in the Tyrol, and is made up of volunteers 
in the rest of the empire. 



128 



FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 



STRENGTH OF THE AUSTRIAIT ARMY IN THE WAR WITH PRUS- 
SIA, IN AUGUST, 1866. 

Total strength, 646,098— viz. : 19,538 officers, and 627,098 
men. Regular army engaged in active field service was 
407,223 men— viz. : 10,932 officers, and 396,291 men. This 
strength was distributed as follows : — 

Officers Men. 

Infantry 6,686 249,243 

Jagers 1,118 42,871 

Border infantry 480 16,794 

Heavy cavalry 312 7,008 

Light cavalry 883 19,807 

Artillery 513 22,245 

And others 940 38,323 

The casualties were : — 





Officers. 


Men. 




Killed. 


Wounded. 


Missing. 


Killed. 


Wonnded. 


Missing-. 


Infantry 


428 

116 

4 

10 

12 

17 


1,138 
214 
22 
33 
54 
44 
4 


352 
50 
2 
23 
32 
20 


7,997 
1,642 

68 

148 

258 

292 

2 


21,545 
4,399 
328 
205 
451 
868 
9 


32,710 


Jagers 


6,394 


Border infantry. . . 

Heavy cavalry 

Light cavalry 

Artillery 


191 

890 

1,573 

1,231 


Others 


175 








587 


1,505 


483 


10,407 


27,805 


43,264 



STRENGTH OF THE NAVY. 

The naval forces of Austria consisted in April, 1869, 
according to official returns, of 45 steamers and 10 sailing 
vessels. The following table gives the names of all the 
men-of-war, with their horse-power, guns, and tonnage: — 

STEAMERS. 

Jron-clads. Horse-power. Guns. Tonnage. 

Lissa..' 1,000 12 5,711 

Kaiser 800 10 5,427 

Iron- clad Frigates. 

Ferdinand Max 800 16 4,757 

Hapsburg 800 16 4,757 

Juan d'Austria 650 12 3,330 



AUSTRIA. 129 

Horse-power. Guns. Tonnage 

Kaiser Max, 650 12 3,330 

Prince Eugene 650 12 3,330 

Draclje 500 10 2,824 

Salamander 500 10 2,824 

Screw Frigates. 

Novarra 500 45 2,497 

Swarzenberg 400 46 2,514 

Adria 300 29 2,198 

Donau 300 29 2,198 

Screiu Corvettes. 

Dandolo 230 22 1,594 

Erzhezog Freidrlch 230 22 1,474 

Helgoland 400 6 1,635 

First- Class Gun-boats. 

Seven, having each 230 4 852 

Second- Class Gun-hoats. 

Three, having each 90 3 333 

Screio Sloojjs. 

Two, having each 90 2 501 

One, having 45 2 348 

Paddle Steamers. 

Sixteen, averaging — 4 — 

SAILING SHIPS. 

Frigates. Guns. Tonnage. 

Bellona 35 1,542 

Vesud (Schoolship) — 1,490 

Corvettes. 

Carolina 18 860 

Minerva 12 556 

Brigs and Schooners. 

Moiitecuccoh 16 586 

Arethusa 10 154 

Arthemisia 8 167 

Saida 6 269 

Transports. 

Cameleon — 143 

Pylades 4 140 

The navy of Austria was commanded in April, 1869, on 
the peace footing, by 2 vice-admirals, 4 rear-admirals, 14 cap- 
tains of ships of the line, 13 captains of frigates, 14 captains 
of corvettes, 106 lieutenants, and 343 ensigns and cadets, 
and manned by 3,803 sailors. On the war footing, the sail- 
ors are to number 8,743 men and the marines 1,410. The 
navy is recruited like the army, by conscription from among 

the seafaring population of the empire. 
6* 



130 FKANCO-PKUSSIAN WAR. 

Austria has twentj-foiir fortresses of the first and second 
rank, namely : Comorn, Carlsburg, Temesvar, Peterwardein, 
Eszek, Brod, Carlstad, Canove, Arrat, Munkacs, Cracow, 
Gradisca, Olmutz, Leopoldstadt, Prague, Brixen, There- 
sienstadtj Kufstein, Linz, Salzburg, Buda, Pagusa, Zara, 
and Pola. The last named is the chief naval fortress of the 
empire. In the naval engagement, during the German- 
Italian war of 1866, between the Austrian and Italian fleets, 
in which the former were victorious, the Austrian fleet was 
divided into three divisions, the first consisting of seven 
iron-clads, under command of Tegethoff*; the second, of 
seven heavy wooden vessels, under Commodore Petz, and 
the third, of seven light wooden vessels. 



SPAIN. 

Spain comprises an area in Europe of 193,244 square 
miles, with a population of about 16,302,265 ; on the 
west is partly bounded by Portugal, and on the northeast 
by France ; on all other sides it is surrounded by water, 
viz. : on the east, southeast, and south, by the Mediterranean 
and the Strait of Gibraltar, on the southwest and west by the 
Atlantic Ocean, and on the north by the Bay of Biscay. 

Including its possessions in America, Africa, and Oceanica, 
it has dominion over 308,279 square miles, on which there 
are over 20,000,000 of inhabitants. 

Possessions in Eurojpe : 



New Castile, 4 
La Mancha, 2 


provinces. 


Estremadura, 
Andalusia, 


2 

8 


provinces. 


Old Castile, 

Leon, 

Asturias, 


8 
3 
1 


it 
(1 


Murcia, 

Valencia, 

Catalonia, 


2 
3 
4 


u 


Galicia, 
Navarre, 


4 
1 


Balearic and 


Aragon, 

Basque Provinces, 

Canary Islands. 


3 
3 


(i 



SPAIN. 131 

Possessions in America — Cuba, Porto Eico, and the 
"Virgin Islands. 

Possessions in Asia — Philippine Islands. 

Possessions in Africa — The Presidios (Ceuta Peiion de 
Yelez, Alhucemas, and Melilba, on the north coast of 
Morocco) and the Guinea Islands. 

Possessions in Oceanica — Part of the Ladrone Islands. 

At the head of each of the old provinces and nearly all 
of the colonies, is a captain -general (formerly viceroy). 
The old provinces are subdivided, making in the aggregate 
49 new provinces {departments) each of which is under the 
administration of a delegado del fomento^ *and as to 
policy, under a gefe politico. The new provinces are sub- 
divided into districts {partidos). 

The communities {pueblos) are administered by elective 
municipalities {ayuntamientos) at the head of each of 
which is an alcalde. 

The government of Spain has undergone a great many 
changes since 1812, and is a constitutional monarchy, being 
hereditary in the male and female line, until the late 
revolution, which ended in the deposition of Queen Isabella, 
and her abdication with the establishment of a Pegency 
ad interim by the Cortes until an acceptable sovereign for 
the Spanish people is found. Formerly the sovereign was 
possessed of the executive power and of all the rights of 
sovereignty ; and exercised the judicial power through 
judges, and shared the legislative with the Cortes. 

The Cortes consists of two chambers, the Senate and 
Congress. The number of members for Congress is fixed 
at 271, each member must pay not less than $150 taxes; 
each one being chosen by 150 of the highest taxpayers in 
the district in which he resides. The senate consists of 
hereditary grandees, ecclesiastical dignitaries and life mem- 
bers appointed by the crown. 

The Administration consists of seven departments and 



132 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN" WAR. 

Council of the State (Minister of the Regency, President, 
and 32 councilors). 

The present Regent is Marshal Serrano, duke de la Torre, 
who was elected regent in 1868. 

According to the A7i7iuaire de VEconomie Politique^ the 
revenue for 1869 was 258,200,479 ^5Cii^(?5, or $12,406,992; 
and the public debt, 263,005,296 reals, or $12,262,425,29. 
Nearly four-fifths of the debt is interest-bearing, and lat- 
terly has undergone a small increase. 

ARMY. 

The Spanish army was reorganized on its present basis 
in 1844, and since which time up to the present date has 
been greatly increased in numbers and efficiency. It has 
a disproportion ally large number of officers, who have ex- 
ercised a prominent influence in the civil wars and contests 
of tlie country. 

The army counts 10 captains-general (a dignity corre- 
sponding to the field'-marshal of other European armies), 61 
lieutenant-generals, 142 major-generals, and 375 brigadier- 
generals. The general staff consists of 3 brigadiers, 9 colo- 
nels, 12 lieutenant-colonels, 25 majors, 60 captains, and 40 
lieutenants. The divisions of the army are as follows : — 

EoYAL Halberdiers 283 

Infantry. — 40 regiments of the line (each having 2 battalions of 8 

companies), 1 regiment ^/o of Ceuta (3 battalions), 20 battalions of 

chasseurs (800 men each), and 80 battalions of provincial militia, 169,972 

Cavalry. — 4 regiments carbineers, 4 of cuirassiers, 6 of lancers, 4 of 

chasseurs, 2 o[ hussars (each divided into 4 squadrons of 520 men 

each), 2 squadrons of chasseurs, and 4 squadrons 15,568 

,Artillery, — 5 regiments on foot, 4 brigades of flying artillery, 2 
brigades of mountain artillery, 1 brigade of mounted artillery, and 

5 brigades fijos on foot 12,369 

Engineers. — 1 general inspector, 14 directors, 2 regiments of engi- 
neers (of 2 battalions each) 4,016 

Gendarmes (guardia civil) 12,951 

Militia. — Canary Islands (6 battal's ofinfantry, 17 comp's artillery) 7,329 

Corps op Carbineers 11,784 

Catalonian Corps 516 



234,788 



SPAm. 133 

Latterly there lias been a large proportionate increase in 
the different branches of the service. The army opei-ating 
in Cuba is included in the above. Besides the above there 
are schools of infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineer cadets, 
and for the general staff, and general military schools 
throughout the various departments or provinces. Spain 
possesses 125 fortified places, strongly garrisoned , twenty- 
five of which are of the first order in Europe. 

NATY. 

Formerly the Spanish navy commanded all the seas, and 
Spain was the leading naval power of the world, but 
declined steadily in power and prestige, until recently, 
when a show of improvement was inaugurated. In 1861 
tlie fleet consisted of 46 sailing vessels, viz. : 2 ships of the 
line, 84 guns ; 3 frigates, each from 32 to 42 guns ; 4 cor- 
vettes, 16 to 36 guns ; 8 brigs, 12 to 18 guns; 1 brigantine, 
6 guns ; 28 vessels of smaller size ; and 65 screw and 29 
paddle-wheel steam vessels, among which is one screw 
steamship of the line with 100 guns. There were then in 
course of construction (but now completed and in commis- 
sion) 2 ships of the line of 100 guns each ; 2 frigates of 40 
guns each; 8 frigates of 51 guns each; 8 schooners, and 8 
gun-boats. Besides these, there were 111 ships for-the de- 
fense of the coast, armed in proportion to their size, and 24 
armed vessels on the coast of the Philippines. There were 
connected with the navy (in 1868) 1,121 ofticers of all 
grades, 189 paymasters, 93 mechanics, 12,976 seamen, 7,980 
marines, and 539 guards of arsenals. Since 1868 a number 
of screw and paddle-wheel steamers have been added to 
the navy by construction and purchase, among which are 
some iron-clads of formidable proportions. 



134 FEANOO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 



BELGIUM. 

The Kingdom of Belgium comprises an area of 11,373 
square miles, with a population of 4,839,092. 
The Provinces are : — 

1. Antwerp, 5. Hainaut, 

2. Brabant (South), 6. Liege, 

3. Flanders (West), " Y. Limburg, 

4. Flanders (East), 8. l^amur. 

Each of the above provinces is divided into ai^rondisse- 
ments administratifs^ and arrojidissements judwiaires / 
sub-divided again into cantons de milice^ and cantoris de 
justice jpaix. 

Each canton is composed of several communes of which 
there are in the kingdom 2,514. Each province has its 
governor and council. The government of the kingdom 
is a very liberal constitutional monarchy, the legislative 
power being vested in a Senate and House of Kepresent- 
atives, the members of which are elected by the people. 

The present ruler is King Leopold XL, who succeeded his 
father, Leopold I. in 1865. The heir apparent is Count 
Philip, of Flanders, who married the Princess Maria, of 
Ilohenzollern-Sigmaringin. Brussels, in South Brabant, is 
the capital. 

Kevenue, 169,403,280 francs. 

Public debt, 717,155,214 francs. 

AKMT. 

The army in time of war consists of 100,000 men of the 
line, and civic or burgher's guard. Belgium has twenty- 
two strongly fortified places. 



BELGIUM. 135 

NAVT. 

The navj is confined to a few steamers and a small flo- 
tilla of gun-boats. 

Bounded on the north by Holland, northwest by the 
JSTorth Sea, west and south by France, and east by the 
Duchy of Luxemburg, the geographical position of Bel- 
gium places her, as it were, almost in the theater of the 
present war, making the preservation of her neutrality very 
trying and peculiar, not only to herself, but to the present 
contestants. 

THE BELGIAN COMMANDERS. 

Lieut.- Gen. Laurent Mathieu JBrialmont. 
This oflScerwas born at Seraing, near Liege, in 17S9, and 
is consequently eighty-one years of age. When seventeen 
years of age he entered the French army and served in all 
the campaigns in Germany, Spain, Russia, and his own 
country. On the restoration of the Bourbons he remained 
in the army and was employed by the government in the 
civil service for a time. Becoming disgusted with llie 
Bourbons he resigned and returned to Belgium, which was 
then a part of Holland. Here he remained watching the 
progress of events and joining in the conspiracies for the 
independence of his country. He contributed greatly to 
the revolutionary movement of 1830, and for his services 
was appointed aid -de-camp to King Leopold I. soon after 
the accession of that monarch in 1831. General Brialmont 
commanded at Antwerp in 1837, and at Mons in 1840. 
He was appointed minister of war in 1850, and after leav- 
ing that post was made a lieutenant-general. In 1858, he 
was placed on the retired list, but was retained on duty as 
aid-de-camp to the king. The great age of General Brial- 
mont makes it improbable for him to do much service. 



136 EEAE-CO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 



Lieut.- Gen. Baron Pierre Emmanuel Felix Chazal. 
General Chazal is a Frenchman by birth. He was born 
at Tarbes (Hautes Pyrenees) in 1808. After the restora- 
tion of the Bourbons, his father, who had been a member 
of the revolutionary convention which condemned the king 
to death, fled to Belgium, where he died in exile. His son 
received a good education at Brussels, and on the outbreak 
of the revolution against Holland in 1830 joined the revolu- 
tionary army. During the war he served with marked 
skill and courage, gaining promotion after promotion with 
surprising rapidity until he had won the highest rank. In 
1814 the Belgian chambers accorded to him all the rights 
and privileges of a native '* for eminent services rendered 
the state." After the downfall of the Catholic party in 
1847, he entered the cabinet of Frier Kogier as minister of 
war. This position he subsequently resigned because of 
some reflections made in the discussions of the army bud- 
get in the Chambers. In 1856 General Chazal was sent to 
St. Petersburg to congratulate the Czar Alexander on his 
succession to the throne. At the present time he is an 
aid-de-camp to the king and a minister of state. 



HOLLAND. 

The Kingdom of Holland comprises an area of 13,890 
square miles, with a population of 3,592,416. 

The geographical position of Holland is an important one 
in Europe ; bounded on the west and north by the iJ^orth 
Sea ; on the east, by Hanover and Prussia ; on the south, by 
Belgium. The river Ems marks the boundary toward 
Hanover. 



LUXEMBUEG. 137 

PROVINCES (in Europe). 

Nortli Brabant, Gelderland, South Holland, North Hol- 
land, Zealand, Utrecht, Friesland, Overyssel, Gronirigen, 
Dreuthe, and Limburg; and with dependencies in Asia, 
Africa, and America, making an aggregate area of 627,558 
square miles. 

The chief cities are the Hague (or 'S Gravenhaag), 
Amsterdam, and Kotterdam. 

The government is a constitutional monarchy, wholly 
vested in the king, who shares it with the States General, 
w^hich consists of two chambers. The members of the 
Upper House consist of twenty-three named by the king 
for life; and of the Lower House of fifty-five elected by the 
Provincial States. The present ruler is King William HI., 
born February 19, 1817, and succeeded his father in 1819. 

Eevenue, 94,865,321 guilders ; public debt, 968,213,913 
guilders. 

ARMT. 

The regular army, in time of peace, consists of 61,318 
men (1,669 officers included), of which about 10,000 are 
artillery ; and 27,168 men are in the East India Colonies. 

NAVY. 

The navy consists of 135 vessels, with 1,325 guns. 



LUXEMBUEa. 

The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg comprises an area of 
990 square miles, with a population of 199,958. It is 
bounded on the north and east by Rhenish Prussia; south, 
by France; and west by Belgium. Luxemburg, the capi- 
tal, contains a strong fortress, and is considered the most 
formidable place in Europe after Gibraltar. It is 115 miles 



138 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

southwest of Frankfort, and 117 miles southeast from Brus- 
sels ; a portion of the town is on a steep, scarped rock, 
200 feet high, surrounded by a strong wall, deep ditch, and 
a double row of formidable outworks. Luxemburg is 
united with Holland by a "Personal Union," but has an 
independent constitution and administration. The govern- 
ment is appointed by the King of Holland. For adminis- 
trative purposes it is divided into three districts, Luxemburg, 
Crevenmacher, and Diedrich, containing eleven cantons. 

The present ruler is Prince Henry, brother of the King 
of Holland, governor since 1850. 

Kevenue, 4,836,220 francs; public debt, 12,000,«§O0 
francs, reduced annually 600,000 francs. 

The army consists of thirteen officers, and 500 under- 
officers and privates, with one corps gendarmes, consisting 
of three officers, twenty-seven under-officers, and seventy- 
nine gendarmes ; total 622 men. 



ITALY. 

The United Kingdom of Italy now comprises an area of 
118,356 square miles, with a population of 24,273,776, and 
takes in the whole of Italy, except the Papal States and 
the Republic of San Marino. 

In 1866 the following states were taken from Austria 
and the Pontifical States: Yenetia from Austria (Lom- 
bardy being ceded in 1859) ; and Pomagna, the Marches, 
Umbria, and Benevento, from the Pontifical States, and now 
form part of the Italian kingdom. 

Its boundaries are, on the east, the Adriatic and Ionian. 
seas ; on the west, the Mediterranean ; and on the north it 
is connected with the European continent by the great 
Alpine system of mountains, from which the Appenine 
range stretches along the entire peninsula. 



ITALY. 139 

It is politically divided into 8,562 commitnes and parishes. 

The governnieiit is a limited monarchy, the legislative 
power being vested in two houses of parliament. 

The present ruler is King Victor Emmanuel III., born 
March 14, 1820, succeeded his father as king of Sardinia in 
1811, and assumed his title of King of Italy in 1861. 

The revenue in 1869, was $142,373,411, and the public 
debt, $1,287,327,550. 

MILITARY STRENGTH OF THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT. 

The Sardinian law of conscription forms the basis of the 
military organization of the kingdom of Italy. According 
to it a certain portion of all the young men of the age of 
21, the number varying from 40,000 to 50,000, is levied 
annually for the standing army, while the rest are entered 
in the army in which they have to practice annually for 45 
days, and are then sent on unlimited furloughs, but can be 
called permanently under arms at the outbreak of a war. 

The standing army is divided into six corps d'ariaee^ 
each corps consisting of three divisions, and each division 
of two brigades ; four or six battalions of " bersaglieri," or 
riflemen, two regiments of cavalry, and from six to nine 
companies of artillery. The actual strength of the army at 
the commencement of last year was as follows, according to 
an official return : — 

No. of men No. of men on Total 

(peace footing), furlough. (war footing.) 

Infantry of the line 118,850 184,272 303,122 

Bersaglieri 14,727 21,448 36,175 

Cavalry 16,165 9,604 25,769 

Artillery 17,202 18,162 35.364 

Corps of Engineers 3,104 563 3,667 

Military Train 3,454 7,151 10,605 

-Carbinier! 19,628 19,628 

Administrative Troops 4,463 3,752 8,215 

Military Instruction 2,y64 2,964 

Total 200,557 244,952 445,509 

The army was commanded, in 1869, by 14,797 officers, 
not included in the above returns. Of these, 870 formed 



140 FRANCO-PEUSSIAF WAR. 

the staff, while 5,967 were attached to the infantry of the 
line, 890 to the Bersaglieri, 689 to the cavabj, and 965 to 
the artillery. Every native of the kingdom is liable to the 
conscription, and to be enrolled either in the standing army 
or the reserve. 



NAVAL FOECES OF ITALY. 



The navy consisted, at the commencement of last year 

of 99 ships of war, armed with 1,032 guns. They were 
classed as follows : — 

Number. Guns. Horse-power. 

Iron-clads 22 272 11,380 

Screw steamers 35 508 9,940 

Paddle steamers 33 122 7,850 

Sailing vessels 9 130 

Total 99 1,032 29,170 

The following table gives the names, the horse-power, 
number of guns, crew, and tonnage of the principal ships of 
the Italian fleet of war : — 

Names of Ships. Horse-power. Guns. Crews. Tonnage. 

Re di Portogallo 800 30 550 5,700 

Ancona 700 26 484 4,250 

Regina Maria Pia 700 26 484 4,250 

Castelfidardo 700 26 484 4,250 

St. Martina 700 26 484 4,250 

Messaggiere 350 2 103 1,000 

Frigates. 

Mary Adelaide 600 32 550 3,459 

Duea di Genoa 600 50 550 3,515 

Carlo Alberto 400 50 580 3,200 

Yittorio Emanuele 500 49 580 3,680 

Garibaldi 450 51 580 .3,501 

Principe Umberto 600 50 580 3,415 

Gaeta 450 51 580 3,980 

St. Giovanni 220 20 345 1,780 

Governolo 450 12 260 1,700 

Guiscardo 300 6 190 1,400 

Ellore Fieramosca 300 6 190 1,400 

Principe Carignano 700 22 440 4,086 

Terrible 400 20 356 2,000 

Formidabile 400 20 356 2,700 

Varese 300 4 108 2,000 

Esploratore 350 2 108 1,000 

Sirena 120 3 63 354 



PONTIFICAL STATES. 141 

The navy was manned in 1869 by 11,913 sailors and 660 
engineers and workingmen, Avitli 1,271 officers, of Vvdiom 2 
were admirals, 5 vice-admirals, 12 rear-admirals, and 104 
captains. The marines consisted of 2 regiments, compris- 
ing 234 officers and 5,688 soldiers. 



SAN MAKING. 



The Eepublic of San Marino, in Italy, forms one of the 
smallest and most ancient states in Europe, and is inclosed 
on all sides by the Papal States. It comprises an area of 
22 square miles, with a population of about 8,000. San 
Marino, the capital, is accessible by only one road, and 
has three strong fortifications. 

The legislature of the republic consists of a senate of 60 
members, elected for life, and chosen from the ranks of 
nobles, citizens, and peasants. The executive consists of 
12 members who are popularly elected. Two eajpitani re- 
ginct^ or presidents, chosen every six months, and justice is 
administered by a foreigner, appointed for three years. 
Two legal functionaries and two secretaries of state are the 
other public officers. The present capitani regina un- 
known. The public revenue is $6,600 annually : no pub- 
lic debt. 

The army consists of 80 men, forming a guard for the 
regency, besides small garrisons in the forts. 



PONTIFICAL STATES. 

The Pontifical or Papal States include an area of 4,652 
square miles, with a population of 723,121, and comprises 
the central part of the Italian Peninsula ; bounded on the 
east by the Adriatic ; southeast by IS'aples ; southwest by 



142 FEANOO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

the Mediterranean ; west by Tuscany ; and northwest by 
Modena. 

The government is of a peculiar kind, partaking some- 
what of the character of an elective monarchy, and is ad- 
ministered by Boards, or Congregazionia^ with tlie Cardinal- 
Secretary of State, as prime minister, presiding. The 
present ruler is Giovanni Maria, Count Mastai Ferretti, 
born May 13, 1792 ; elected Pope, with title of Pius IX., 
June 16, 1846. 

POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF THE TEKKITOKT. 

1. Eoma et Comarca. 
LEGATIONS {Legazioni). 

2. Bologna, 5. Ravenna, 

3. Ferrara (Oiacchi), 6. Urbino e Pesara, 

4. Porli, 7. Velletri. 

DELEGATIONS {Delegazioni). 

8. Ancona., 14. Spoleto, 

9, Macerata, 15. Rieto, 

10. Camerino, 16. Viterbo, 

11. Fermo, 17. Orvieto, 

12. Ascoli, 18. Fresinone, 

13. Perugia, 19. Civita Yecchia. 

In 1866 Eomagna, the Marches, Umbria, and Benevento 
were annexed to Italy, for which consideration she is to 
pay 20,642,292 francs, and an annual^^mzf^ of 18,627,773 
lire {lira 19 cents). 

The Papal Eevenue is (1868) 28,845,359 lire, and the 
Public Debt (1867) 37,402,695 lire-rente. 

The army, in 1867, numbered nearly 10,000 men as 
follows : — 

1 regiment of tlie line (Italians) 1,850 

1 battalion Cacciatori (Italians) 800 

1 " Zouaves (French and Belgians) 750 

1 " carabinieri (Swiss) 650 

1 " troop St. Patrick (Irish) 600 

1 " garrison troops. 650 

1 legion gendarmes , 2,700 

Total infantry 8,000 



PONTIFICAL STATES. 143 

2 squadrons gendarmes 300 

2 " dragoons (partly foreigners) 250 

Total cavalry 550 

1 regiment artillery 800 

1 corps engineers 150 

Stafif 88 

1,038 

Total 9,588 

In 1869 there was a proportionate increase in the above, 
making an aggregate of 16,334 men. 

PAPAL INFALLIBILITY. 

DOGMATIC DECEEE ON THE CHFKCH OF CHRIST, PASSED JULY 

18, 1870. 

Piiis^ Bishop^ Servant of the Servants of God, with the 
approhation of the Holy Council, for a perpetual re- 
raewihrance hereof. 
The eternal shepherd and bishop of our souls, in order 
to render perpetual the saving work of his redemption, 
resolved to build the holy church, in which, as in the house 
of the living God, all the faithful should be united by the 
bond of the same faith and charity. For which reason, 
before he was glorified, he prayed the Father, not for the 
apostles alone, but for all those who, through their word, 
would believe in him, that they all might be one as the 
Son himself and the Father are one (John xvii. 1-20). 
Wherefore, even as he sent the apostles, whom he had 
chosen from the world as he had been sent by the Father, 
so he willed that there should be pastors and teachers in 
his church even to the consummation of the world. More- 
over, to the end that the episcopal body itself might be one 
and undivided, and that the entire multitude of believers 
might be preserved in oneness of faith and of commurdon, 
through priests cleaving mutually together, he placed the 
blessed Peter before the other apostles, and established in 
him a perpetual principle of this twofold unity, and a visi- 



144: FEANCO-PKUSSIAX WAR. 

ble foundation on whose strength " the eternal temple might 
be built and in whose firm faith the church miglit rise 
upward until her summit reach the heavens" (St. Leo the 
Great, Sermon iv. [or iii.], chapter 2, on Christmas). Now, 
seeing that in order to overthrow, if possible, the church, 
the powers of hell on every side, and with a hatred which 
increases day by day, are assailing her foundation which 
was placed by God, we therefore, for the preservation, the 
safety, and the increase of the Catholic flock, and with the 
approbation of the sacred council, have judged it necessary 
to set forth the doctrine which, according to the ancient 
and constant faith of the universal church, all the faithful 
must believe and hold, touching the institution, the perpe- 
tuity, and the nature of the sacred apostolic primacy, in 
which stands the power and strength of the entire church ; 
and to proscribe and condemn the contrary errors so hurtful 
to the flock of the Lord. 

Of the Institution of the Apostolic Primacy in the Blessed 

Peter. 

We teach, therefore, and declare that, according to the 
testimonies of the Gospel, the primacy of jurisdiction over 
the whole church of God was promised and given immedi- 
ately and directly to blessed Peter, the apostle, by Christ 
our Lord. For it was to Simon alone, to whom he had 
already said, " Thou shalt be called Cephas" (John i. 42), 
that, after he had professed his faith, " Thou art Christ, 
the Son of the living God," our Lord said, "Blessed art 
thou, Simon Bar-Jona; because flesh and blood hath not 
revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven ; and I 
say to thee, that thou art Peter, and ui)on this rock 1 will 
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it ; and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom 
of heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it 
shall be bound also in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt 



PONTIFICAL STATES. 145 

loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven " (Mat- 
thew xvi. 16-19). And it was to Simon Peter alone that 
Jesns, after his resnrr(?ction, gave the jurisdiction of supreme 
shepherd and ruler over the whole of his fold, saying, " Feed 
mj lambs;'' "Feed my sheep" (John xxi. 15-17). To 
this doctrine so clearly set forth in the sacred Scriptures, 
as the Catholic Church has always understood it, are plainly 
opposed the perverse opinions of those who, distorting 
the form of government established in his church by Christ 
our Lord, deny that Peter alone above the other apostles, 
whether taken separately one by one or all together, was 
endowed by Christ with a true and real primacy of jurisdic- 
tion ; or who assert that this primacy was not given im- 
mediately and directly to blessed Peter, but to the church, 
and through her to him, as to the agent of the church. 

If, therefore, any one shall say, that blessed Peter the 
Apostle was not appointed by Christ our Lord, the prince 
of all the apostles, and the visible head of the whole church 
militant ; or, that he received directly or immediately from 
onr Lord Jesus Christ only the primacy of honor, and not 
that of true and real jurisdiction, let him be anathema. 

Of the Perpetuity of the Primacy of Peter in the Roman 

Pontiffs. 

What the prince of pastors and the great shepherd of the 
sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, established in the person of 
the blessed apostle Peter for the perpetual welfare and last- 
ing good of the church, the same through his power must 
needs last forever in that church, which is founded upon 
the rock, and will stand firm till the end of time. And, in- 
deed, it is well known, as it has been in all ages, that the 
holy and most blessed Peter, prince and head of the apos- 
tles, pillar of the faith and foundation of the Catholic 
Church, who received from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sav- 
iour and Redeemer of mankind, the keys of the Kingdom 



14:6 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

of Heaven, to this present time and at all times, lives and 
presides and pronounces judgment in the person of his suc- 
cessors, the bishops of the holy Rdman see, which v/as 
founded by him, and consecrated by his blood. (Council 
of Eph. sess. iii., St. Peter Chrys. Ep. ad Eutych.) Peter 
in this chair holds, according to Christ's own institution, 
the primacy of Peter over the whole church. What, there- 
fore, was once established by him who is the truth, still re- 
mains, and blessed Peter, retaining the strength of the rock, 
which has been given to him, has never left the helm of the 
church originally intrusted to him. (S. Leo, Serm. iii., ch. 3.) 
For this reason it was always necessary for every other 
church — that is, the faithful of all countries — to have re- 
course to the Poman Church on account of its superior 
headship, in order that being joined, as members to their 
head, with this see, from which the rights of religious com- 
munication flow unto all, they might be knitted into the 
nnity of one body. (St. Irengeus against Pleresies, book iii., 
chap. 3; Epist. of Council of Aquileian, 381, to Grattian ; 
chap. 4 of Pius YL, Brief super, soliditate.) If, there- 
fore, any one shall say that it is not by the institution of 
Christ our Lord himself, or by divine right, that blessed 
Peter has perpetuated successors in the primacy over the 
whole church ; or, that the Roman pontiff is not the suc- 
cessor of blessed Peter in this primacy, let him be anathema. 

Of the Isomer and Nature of the Primacy of the Roman 

Pontiff. 

Wherefore, resting upon the clear testimonies of holy 
writ, and following tlie full and explicit decrees of our pre- 
decessors, the Roman pontiffs, and of general councils, we 
renew the definition of the Ecumenical Council of Florence, 
according to which all the faithful of Christ must believe 
that the holy apostolic see and the Roman pontiff hold the 
primacy over the whole world, and that the Roman pontiff 



PONTIFICAL STATES. 147 

is the successor of blessed Peter, the prince of the 
apostles, and the true vicar of Christ, and is the head of the 
whole church, and the father and teacher of all Christians ; 
and that to him, in the blessed Peter, was given bj our 
Lord Jesus Christ full power of feeding, ruling, and govern- 
ing the universal church; as is also set forth in the acts of 
the ecumenical councils, and in the sacred canons. 

Wherefore, we teach and declare that the Roman Church, 
under divine providence, possesses a headship of ordinary 
power over all other churches, and that this power of juris- 
diction of the Pom an pontiff, which is truly episcopal, is 
immediate, toward which the pastors and faithful of what- 
ever rite and dignity, whether singly or all together, are 
bound by the duty of hierarchical subordination and of true 
obedience, not only in things which appertain to faith and 
morals, but likewise in those things which concern the dis- 
cipline and government of the church spread throughout 
the world, so that being united with the Poman pontiff, 
both in communion and in profession of the same faith, the 
church of Christ may be one fold under one chief shepherd. 
This is the doctrine of Catholic truth, from which no one 
can depart without loss of faith and salvation. 

So far, nevertheless, is this power of the supreme pontiff 
from trenching on that ordinary power of episcopal juris- 
diction by which the bishops, who have been instituted by 
the Holy Ghost, and have succeeded in the place of the 
apostles, like true shepherds, feed and rule the flocks assign- 
ed to them, each one his own ; that, on the contrary, this 
their power is asserted, strengthened, and vindicated by the 
supreme and universal pastor, as St. Gregory the Great 
saith : " My honor is the honor of the universal church ; 
my honor is the solid strength of my brethren; then am I 
truly honored when to each one of them the honor due is 
not denied." (St. Gregory Great, ad Euloguius, Epist. 30.) 

Moreover, from that supreme authority of the Poman 



' 148 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

pontiff to govern the universal clmrch, there follows to him 
the right in the exercise of this his office, of freely commu- 
nicating with the pastors and flocks of the whole church, 
that they may be taught and guided by him in the way of 
salvation. 

Wherefore, we condemn and reprobate the opinions of 
those who say that this communication of the supreme 
head with tlie pastors and flocks can be lawfully hindered, 
or who make it subject to the secular power, maintaining 
that the things which are decreed by the apostolic see, or 
under its authority, for the government of the church, have 
no force or value unless they are confirmed by the approval of 
the secular power. And since, by the divine rights of apos- 
tolic primacy, the Roman pontiff presides over the universal 
churches, we also teach and declare that be is the supreme 
judge of the faithful (Pius YI., Brief super, soliditate), and 
that in all causes calling for ecclesiastical trial, recourse 
may be had to his judgment (second co-uncil of Lyons) ; but 
the decision of the apostolic see, above which there is no 
higher authority, can not be reconsidered by any one, nor is 
it lawful to any one to sit in judgment on his judgment. 
(Nicholas I., epist. ad Michaelem Imperatorem.) 

Wherefore, they wander away from the right path of 
truth who assert that it is lawful to appeal from the judg- 
ments of the Roman pontiffs to an ecumenical council, as if 
to an authority superior to the Roman pontiff. 

Therefore, if any one shall say that the Roman pontiff 
holds only the charge of inspection or direction, and not full 
and supreme power of jurisdiction over the entire church, 
not only in things which pertain to faith and morals, but 
also in those which pertain to the discipline and govern- 
ment of the church spread throughout the whole world ; or, 
that he possesses only the chief part, and not the entire 
plenitude of this supreme power; or, that this his power 
is not ordinary and immediate, both as regards all and each 



POKTIFIOAL STATES. 149 

of the churches, and all and each of the pastors and faith- 
ful, let him be anathema. 

Of the Infallible Authority of the Roman Pontiff in 
Teaching. 

This holy see has ever held — the unbroken custom of the 
church has proved — and the Ecumenical Councils, those 
especially in which the East joined with the West, in 
union of faith and of charity, have declared that in this 
apostolic primacy, which the Roman pontiff holds over the 
universal church, as successor of Peter, the prince of the 
apostles, there is also contained the supreme power of au- 
thoritative-teaching. Thus the fathers of the fourth council 
of Constantinople, following in the footsteps of their prede- 
cessors, put forth this solemn profession : — 

" The first law of salvation is to keep the rule of true 
faith. And whereas the words of our Lord Jesus Christ 
can not be passed by, who said : 'Thou art Peter, and upon 
this rock I will build my church' (Matt. xvi. 18), these 
words, which he spoke are proved true by facts ; for in 
the apostolic see, the Catholic religion has ever been pre- 
served unspotted, and the holy doctrine has been an- 
nounced. Therefore, wishing never to be separated from 
the faith and teaching of this see, we hope to be worthy to 
abide in that one communion which the apostolic see 
preaches, in which is the full and true firmness of the 
Christian religion." (Formula of St- Hormisdas, Pope, as 
proposed by Hadrian II. to the fathers of the eighth general 
council [Constantinople lY.] and subscribed by them.) 

So, too, the Greeks, with the approval of the second 
council of Lyons, professed that the holy Poman church 
holds over the universal Catholic Church a supreme and 
fall primacy and headship, which she truthfully and hum- 
bly acknowledges that she received from the Lord himself 
in blessed Peter, the prince or head of the apostles, of whom 



150 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 

the Roinan poiitifFis the successor; and as she, beyond the 
others, is bound to defend the truth of the faith, so if any 
questions arise concerning faith, they should be decided 
by her judgment. And finally, the council of Florence 
defined that the Roman pontiff is the true vicar of Christ, 
and the head to the whole church, and the father and 
teacher of all Christians, and that to him, iu the blessed Pe- 
ter, was given by our Lord Jesus Christ, full power of feed- 
ing, and ruling, and governing the universal church. (John 
xxi. 15-17.) 

In order to fulfill this pastoral charge, our predecessors 
have ever labored unweariedly to spread the saving doc- 
trine of Christ among all the nations of the earth, and with 
equal care have watched to preserve it pure and unchanged 
where it had been received. Wherefore the bishops of the 
whole world, sometimes singly, sometimes assembled in 
synods, following the long-establish-e-d custom of the 
churches (S. Cyril, Alex, ad S. Ccelest., Pap.) and the form 
of ancient rule (St. Inno-cent I., to councils of Carthage and 
Milevi) referred to this apostolic see those dangers especially 
which arose in matters of faith, in order that injuries to 
faith might best be healed there, where the faith could 
never fail. (St. Bernard, ep. 120.) And the Roman pon- 
tiffs, weighing the condition of times and circumstances, 
sonietimes calling together general councils, or asking the 
judgment of the church scattered through the world, some- 
times consulting particular synods, sometimes using such 
other aids as Divine Providence supplied, defined that those 
doctrines should be held, which, by the aid of God, they 
knew to be conformable to the Holy Scriptures and the 
apostolic traditions. For the Holy Ghost is not promised 
to the successors of Peter, that they may make known a 
new doctrine revealed by him, but that through his assist- 
ance they may sacredly guard, and faithfully set forth the 
revelation delivered by the apostle, that is, the deposit of 



PONTIFICAL STATES. 151 

faith. And this their apostolic teaching all the venerable 
fathers have embraced, and the holy orthodox doctors have 
revered and followed, knowing most certainly that this see 
of St. Peter ever remains free from all error, according to 
the divine promise of our Lord and Saviour made to the 
prince of the apostles : " I have prayed for thee that thj 
faith fail not, and thou, being once converted, confirm thy 
brethren." (Conf. St. Agatho., ep. ad Imp. : a cone, cecum, 
vi. approbat.) 

Therefore, this gift, of truth, and of faith which fails not, 
was divinely bestowed on Peter and his successors in this 
chair, that they should exercise their high office for the sal- 
vation of all, that through them the universal flock of 
Christ should be turned away from the poisonous food of 
error, and should be nourished with the food of heavenly 
doctrine, and that the occasion of schism being removed, 
the entire church should be preserved one, and, planted on 
her foundation, should stand firm against the gates of hell. 

l^evertheless, since in this present age, when the saving 
efficacy of the apostolic office is exceedingly needed, there 
are not a few wdio carp at its authority ; we judge it alto- 
gethjer necessary to solemnly declare the prerogative wdiich 
the only begotten Son of God has deigned to unite to the 
supreme pastoral office. 

Wherefore, faithfully adhering to the tradition handed 
down from the commencement of the Christian faith, for 
the glory of God our Saviour, the exaltation of the Catholic 
religion, and the salvation of Christian peoples, with the 
approbation of the sacred council, we teach and define it to 
be a doctrine divinely revealed ; that the Eoman pontiff, 
when he speaks ex cathedra^ that is, when in exercise of 
his office of pastor and teacher of all Christian peoples, and 
in virtue of his supreme apostolical authority, he defines 
that a doctrine of faith or morals is to be held by the 
universal church, possesses, through the divine assistance 



352 FEANCO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 

promised to him in the blessed Peter, that infallibility with 
which the divine Redeemer willed his church to be endow- 
ed, in defining a doctrine of faith or morals ; and therefore, 
that such definitions of the Roman pontiff, are irreformable 
of themselves, and not bj force of the consent of the church 
thereto. 

And if any one shall presume, which God forbid, to con- 
tradict this our definition, let him be anathema* 



POETUaiL. 



The Kingdom of Portugal comprises an area of 35,400 
square miles, with a population of 4,399,966, and forms the 
western part of the Spanish peninsula. 

Provinces in Europe. — Alemtejo, 3 districts ; Algarve, 

1 district ; Beira-Alta, 2 districts ; Douro, 3 districts ; Es- 
tremadura, 3 districts ; Minho, 2 districts ; Tras-os-Montos, 

2 districts. 

Colonies. — Madeira, Porto Santo and part of the Azores ; 
Cape Yerde Islands, Guinea, Bissao, St. Thomas, Principe, 
Angola, Benguela, and Mozambique, in Africa ; Goa, Bar- 
dez, Salsette, Damao, and Diu, in Asia; and Macao, Timor, 
Solor, and Midora, in Oceanica and China. 

The government is an hereditary constitutional monar- 
chy, under a constitution adopted in 1826. The legislative 
power is vested jointly in the sovereign and Cortes, which 
consists of two chambers, one of peers and the other of dep- 
uties. The peers are elected by the crown for life, and the 
deputies by electors. 

The present sovereign is King Luis I., born October 31, 
1838, and succeeded his brother. King Pedro Y., in 1861. 

The revenue, according to the budget of 1869, is 
16,910,137 milreis, and the public debt, 220,868,202 mil- 
reis. 



LIECHTEN-STEIN- (PRINCIPALITY). 153 

AEMY. 

« - 

Bj an act of April 15, 1854, the standing army of Por- 
tugal was 24,000, with a reserve of 13,767 men. In 1869, 
the army consisted, in the kingdom, of 1,567 officers and 
23,092 men ; in the colonies, of 9,453 men of first line, and 
21,411 of second line. 

NAVY. 

The navy now consists of about 26 armed, and 19 non- 
armed vessels, carrying 855 guns. 



LIECHTENSTEIN (PEINOIPALITY). 

Liechtenstein formerly belonged to the Germanic Con- 
federacy, but since the establishment of the North German 
Confederation, in 1866, it has no relation with it, or the 
South German States. 

It comprises an area of 54 square miles, with a population 
of 7,994. 

The present ruler is Prince Johann IL, born October 5, 
1849, and succeeded his father, I^ovember 2, 1858. 

Kevenue, 55,000 florins. 

No public debt. 

Liechtenstein is the smallest principality in Germany, 
and is bounded on the northeast and east by the Austrian 
circle of Yorarlsberg and the Tyrol, south by the Swiss 
Canton of Grisons, and on the west by the Khine, which 
separates it from the Canton of St. Gall. 

The family of Liechtenstein is a branch from that of 
Este. The present prince has extensive domains in Mora- 
via and other portions of Germany. 



154 FEANOO-PEUSSIAN" WAE. 



SWITZEELMD. 

The Republic of Switzerland includes an area of 
15,722 square miles, with a population of 2,510,494. 

THE CANTONS AKE 

Aargau, Appenzell-Rliodes (outer and inner), Basel (city 
and county), Bern, Freyburg, Geneva, Grlarus, Orisons, Lu- 
cerne, ]S"eufchatel, St. Gall, Schaffhausen, Schwytz, Soleure, 
Ticino, Tliurgau, Unterwalden (upper and lower), Uri, 
Yalais, Yaud, Zng, and Zurich. 

It is bounded on the north by Baden, from which it is 
for the most part separated by the Rhine ; northeast by 
Wurtemberg and Bavaria, from which it is separated by 
the Lake of Constance; east by the principality of Liech- 
tenstein and the Tyrol, from the former of which it is separ- 
ated by the Rhine, and from the latter partly by the Rhine, 
but chiefly by ranges of the Grison Alps ; south, by Italy, 
from which it is separated by the Alps, and from Savoy 
by the Alps and the lake of Geneva ; and west and north- 
west, by France, from which it is separated by the Jura 
Mountains and the river Doubs. 

The government is vested in a Federal Council (executive, 
seven members). Dr. Dubs, President, and Emel Walte 
Yice-President ; a Council of State (forty -four members, 
two for each canton), A. O. Aeppli, President; and a 
IS^ational Council (128 members, elected for three years), 
Simon Kaiser, President. The President of the Republic 
is elected each year. 

The revenue for 1867, was 19,781,961 francs. 



DENMARK. 155 



THE AEMY. 



The regular army consists of 87,730 men ; the reserve of 
49,765 men, and the Landwehr of 65,359 men ; making a 
grand total of 202,854 men. 

A military alliance with France, in 1868, was rejected. 



DENMAEK. 



The Kingdom of Denmark comprises an area of 14,698 
English square miles, with a population estimated at 1,717,- 
802. 

The dependencies are Faroe, Iceland, Danish settlements 
in Greenland, the islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. 
Croix in the West Indies, comprising in the aggregate, an 
area of 40,214 square miles, with a population of 108,983. 
The Elbe Duchies (Schleswig and Holstein) formerly be- 
longed to the kingdom — and now form a part of the kingdom 
of Prussia. 

The government is a constitutional monarchy, the legis- 
lative power of which is vested in the King and Diet jointly. 
The Diet consists of the Landsthing (upper house) and the 
Folkething (lower house), the members of which are elected 
by the people. Tlie present ruler is King Christian IX., 
born April 8, 1808, and succeeded King Frederick YII., 
Kovember 15, 1863. 

The heir-apparent to the crown is Prince Frederick, born 
June 3, 1843, and betrothed to the Princess Louisa of 
Sweden, July 15, 1868. 

The revenue in 1867 was 438,748 rix-dollars, and the 
public debt, 132,685,400 rix-dollars. 

The army of Denmark in 1868, w^as composed as follows : 



156 FRANCO-PRUSSIAN' WAR. 







LINE AND EESERVE, 










FIRST CALL. 


SECOND 


CALL. 




Officers. 


Men. 


Officers. 


Men. 


Infantry 
Cavalry 
Artillery 
Engineers 


730 
126 
139 


26,750 
1,922 
6,523 


235 

* 23 
- 4 


9,396 

l,'5io 
207 



995 35,195 262 11,143 

The fleet, in 1867, consisted of 30 steamers (inclusive of 
6 iron -cl ads, with an aggregate of 389 guns), 1 sailing ves- 
sel, 22 gun-boats, and 31 transports. 



NOEWAY AND SWEDEN. 

NOEWAT. 

The area of !N"orway is estimated at 123,386 square miles, 
with a population of 1,701,478 ; and the boundaries are, on 
the northeast, Russian Lapland, on the east Sweden, on 
the north the Arctic Ocean, on the north v/est and w^est 
the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, and on the south 
the Skager-Rack. 

Provinces — Aggershuus, or Christiania, Christiansand, 
Bergen, Trondhjem, and Tromsoe. 

The government is a limited hereditary monarchy united 
with Sweden as a free, independent, indivisible kingdom. 

The Storthing (legislative assembly) is elected by the 
people, and exists for three years, when a new election takes 
place. It is composed of two chambers — the Lagthing^ 
numbering one-fourth of the members, and the Odelsthing 
three-fourths. 

According to the ISTorwegian budget of 1869, the revenue 
consisted of 5,023,000 specie dollars, and the public debt of 
8,240,700 specie dollars. 



TURKEY. 157 

The ISTorwegian army, on a peace footing, numbers 12,- 
000 men; on a war footing, 18,000 men. The Landwehr 
is used exclusively for the defense of the country. 

SWEDEN. 

Sweden comprises an area of about 128,076 square miles, 
with a population of 4,160,677, and forms with l^orway the 
whole of the peninsula known in ancient times by the name 
of Scandinavia. 

The government of Sweden has at its head an hereditary 
constitutional sovereign, who possesses the sole executive, 
but shares the legislative power with the Diet or Parlia- 
ment, composed of four chambers — 1st, E'obility ; 2d, Cler- 
gy ; 3d, Burghers ; and 4th, Peasants ; which meet and 
vote separately. 

Provinces. — Gottland ; Sweden Proper ; ITorrland. 

In the Swedish budget of 1868, the revenue is estimated 
at 36,461,270 rix-dollars ; and the public debt, in 1865, was 
74,068,000 rix-dollars. 

The Swedish army, in 1868, consisted of 124,807 men ; 
and the navy, of 17 armed steamers, carrying 132 guns, 
and 31 sailing vessels. 

The present ruler of Norway and Sweden is King 
Charles XY., born May 3, 1826, and succeeded his father 
July 8, 1859. 



TUEKEY. 

TiJEKEY comprises an area of 1,917,472 square miles, with 
a population of 40,000,000, distributed as follows : — 

Countries. Area. Population. 

Possessions in Europe 260,932 18,487,000 

Possessions in Asia 667,326 16,463,000 

Possessions in Africa 1,049,214 5,050,000 

Total 1,977,472 40,000,000 



158 FRANOO-PEUSSIAN WAR. 

Tlie present Sultan is Abdul-Aziz-Khan, born February 
9, 1830, and succeeded his brother June 25, 1857. 

Tlie Grand-Yizier is Midtul Pasha; and the Sheik-ul- 
Islam (chief of the Ulema, Judic, and Eulis — Supreme 
Council) is Hassan EfFendi. 

In 1868 the Sultan established a Council of State, which 
is divided into 5 departments — Administrative, Finance, 
Justice, Instruction, and Commerce — composed of 50 mem- 
bers. Christians and Mohammedans, elected by the Sultan ; 
and a Supreme Court, consisting of 2 sections, civil and 
criminal. 

The revenue (in 1866) consisted of 3,171,889 purses (purse, 
$24), and the public debt, of £69,112,270 sterling. 

THE AKMY. 

Nizam (regular army) consists of 130,496 men, divided 
into 6 corps (of which 30,000 men are in Crete, Tripoli, 
etc.). 

Redif (reserve), 100,496 ; auxiliary troops of semi-inde- 
pendent provinces, states, etc., not subject to Mzam, 100,000; 
and irregular troops (Bashi-Bazouk, Tartars, etc.), about 
90,000 ; making an aggregate available force in time of 
war, of over 420,000 men, and probably still greater 
increase. 

TJie navy, in 1867, was composed of 185 war vessels, 
with 2,370 cannon, 18 of which were iron-clads having 
49 S guns. 

The states wliich pay annual tribute to Turkey are : — 

I. Egypt — Yiceroy, Ismail Pacha, born November 6, 
1816; became ruler in 1866, with title of Khedivi-el- 
Masr. 

II. Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia of Pouma- 
nia — Hospodar, Prince Charles of Hohenzollern-Sigmarin- 
gen ; elected April 20, 1866, and recognized by Turkey. 

III. Servia — Prince Milan lY. (not of age); regency, 



A GLIMPSE IN THE FUTUKE. 159 

P. Blasnovar, JT. E-istic, and J. Gavrianovic, of which Zem- 
tich is President. 

TV. Montenegro — Prince E^icholas I. ; born 1840, and 
proclaimed in 1860. 

The Council of State (Shnrai Develet), as before reverted 
to, was introduced by the Sultan, May 11, 1868. 



A GLIMPSE IN THE FUTUEE. 

MOTIVES AND PEOBABILITIES OF THE WAK. 

The actual political condition of both France and Prus- 
sia is the partial realization of schemes that, like the 
famous Peter the Great policy of Pussia, are traditional. 
United Germany has been the dream of Germans since 
Maria Theresa and the Great Frederick fought for su2:)rem- 
acy. The contention w^as whether it should be Protestant 
or Catholic. The Prussia of to-day has swept away for- 
ever the tradition of the Holy Poman Empire. And it was 
reserved for Bismarck to demonstrate the impossibility of 
a voluntary federation of independent petty sovereigns, and 
the practicability of a welding of these several minor pow- 
ers round the solid core of one great state, which should 
give solidity and cohesion to the mass. The political ten- 
dency of the Teutonic mind is to personal loyalty. The 
feudal sentiment which by the ferment and change of 
nearly a century has been obliterated in the French nation, 
is still the prevailing idea in Germany. Success always 
justifies enterprise with the majority of mankind ; but this 
common acceptance of the fait accomjjli is not the only 
motive for German admiration of Prussia. She has real- 
ized in German fashion the preconception of German gran- 
deur ; her adherents and supporters being the great masses 
of the German-speaking tribes ; the dissidents being the 



160 FEANCO-PEUSSIAN WAK. 

sovereign princes and powers whose characters or personal- 
ities were of no weight with their coimtrymen. The French 
on their part, whatever their internal convulsions, have 
always retained nnder every form of government the idea 
of a great empire with natural boundaries — the Alps, the 
Pyrenees, the Ocean, and the Rhine. This, .whether in the 
days of Francis, of Richelieu, Louis XIY., the Republic, or 
the Empire, has been the French idea. Geographically, it 
is reasonable ; ethnically, the only obstacle is the Rheno- 
German provinces. The first ]N"apo]eon himself even 
favored the idea of German unity, and mediatized a great 
number of petty powers whicJi split np Germany like the 
squares of a chess-board, without its equality or regularity. 
But he also would have maintained the Rhine boundary 
had not his own towering ambition and the force of circum- 
stances been too powerful. 

Mce and Savoy were annexed to France at the close of 
the Italian war. So much was gained toward the dream 
of a compact, geographically defined France. Belgium to 
the west, with its ports on the ISTorth Sea, and the Rhenish 
provinces on the north will perfect the circumscription, and 
the accomplishment of this scheme will complete the idees 
Na/poleoniennes^ the tearing to pieces of the treaties of 1815. 
The Luxemburg business was but an offshoot of this great 
design. This is the French map of Europe. Whoever can 
lay it out and maintain it will be the Frenchman for the 
French. 

The Rhine, from Rotterdam to Cologne, runs through a 
flat country. From this point to the junction of the Moselle 
there begins a succession of landscapes of wonderful beauty 
and variety — hill and dale, undulating slopes and rich plats. 
From Coblenz to Maxan the Rhine describes an irregular 
shallow curve. Strike another curve between those two 
points, about forty miles wide at its broadest part, and the 
area inclosed is the Rheno-Germau provinces, or, as it is 



A GLIMPSE m THE EUTURE. 161 

now called, Elieno-Prnssia. This is the territory for which 
France longs. From Basel to Carlsruhe the Rhine is 
already a French frontier line. Thence to Cleves it is Ger- 
man on both sides. Without Belgium, indeed, the Rhine 
provinces, if assigned to France, wonld be militarily unten- 
able, running as they do in a wedge shape between trans- 
Rhenal Prussia and Belgium. 

The people of the Rheno-Prussian provinces are German 
by race and language, w^iich would scarcely predispose 
them in favor of a new or foreign master. Alsace, the Ger- 
man-French province in the Ppper Rhine of which Stras- 
bourg is the capital, is already an example of the fusion that 
might take place. The Alsatians speak both French and 
German — or, more correctly, speak neither. But there is 
no ground for assuming that they are not loyal to France, 
or that they have any desire to be Germanized. In calcu- 
lating the chances of success to either party in the present 
European struggle, it is well not to lose sight of a principle 
whose influence has been manifest in every political up- 
heaval in Europe for the last century. That principle w^as 
proved and established amidst the tremendous whirlwind 
of the French Revolution, upsetting and unsettling as it did 
all the ideas upon which human governments were supposed 
to be firmly based. T/ie will of the 2)eoj)le is the governing 
jpower. ISTow^ there is scarcely a power in Europe, save, 
perhaps, that of Russia, w^hich dare wage war unless assured 
of popular support. A go^^ernment not sustained by pop- 
ular sentiment is almost sure to go to the wall in the con- 
test. Thus modern wars are either actually or nominally 
undertaken in the interest of the people. 

In the present contest wx have the spectacle of both na- 
tions enthusiastically united in support of their respective 
leaders. The one is inspired by the memories of the First 
Empire, when the tri-color of France was carried victori- 
ously over all Europe, and by love of la jpatrie et la gloire. 



162 FEANCO-PEUSSIAIT WAR. 

Ob the other hand, Prussia has rallied all Germany to her 
standard ; while the great Germanic race throughout the 
world is dazzled by the almost realized vision of German 
unity. 



UNITED STATES NAVY. 
OuK ships afloat are distributed as follows: — 

THE NOKTH ATLANTIC FLEET, 

Or home squadron, consists of the Severn, second rate, flag- 
ship, 15 guns; the monitor Dictator, third rate, 2 guns; 
the double-turreted monitor Terror, third rate, 4 guns ; 
Tuscarora, third rate, 6 guns ; monitor Saugus, third rate, 2 
guns ; Swatara, fourth rate, Y guns ; Nantasket, fourth rate, 
7 guns. Total — 7 vessels, 43 guns. 

SOUTH ATLANTIC FLEET. 

Lancaster, flrst rate, flagship, 22 guns ; Portsmouth, third 
rate, sailing sloop, 15 guns, and the Wasp, fourth rate, 1 
gun. Total — 3 vessels, 38 guns. 

MEDITEEEANEAN FLEET. 

Franklin, first rate, flagship, 39 guns ; Plymouth, second 
rate, 12 guns; Eichmond, second rate, 18 guns; Juniata, 
third rate, 8 guns. Total — 4 ships, 77 guns. 

PACIFIC FLEET. 

Saranac, second rate, flagship, 11 guns ; Mohican, third 
rate, 6 guns ; Kearsarge, third rate, 6 guns ; St. Mary's, 
sailing sloop, third rate, 16 guns ; Jamestown, third rate, 
sailing sloop, 16 guns ; Onward, third rate, sailing sloop, 3 
guns ; Resaca, third rate, 7 guns ; Cyanne, fourth rate, 
sailing sloop, 14 guns ; Saginaw, fourth rate, 2 guns ; Ny- 
ack, fourth rate, 3 guns ; Ossipee, third rate, 9 guns. Total 
— 11 shipSj 93 guns. 



UNITED STATES NAVY. 163 

ASIATIC FLEET. 

Delaware, first rate, flagship, 21 guns ; x\slmelot, third 
rate, 6 guns; Monocacy, third rate, 6 guns; Idaho, third 
rate, 7 guns. The Colorado, first rate, 46 guns, is e7i route 
to the East to relieve the Delaware, and the Benicia, third 
rate, 12 guns, and Alaska, third rate, 12 guns, are also on 
their way to this squadron. Total — 7 ships, 110 guns. 

ON SPECIAL SERVICE. 

Michigan (Lake Erie), fourth rate, no guns given ; Tal- 
lapoosa, third rate, dispatch boat ; Yantic, fourth rate, 3 
guns; Sabine, sailing frigate, second rate, 36 guns; E"ipsic, 
fourth rate, 3 guns. Fishing Banks ; Gerard, store ship, 
fourth rate, 4 guns, Fishing Banks ; Frolic, fourth rate, 5 
guns. Fishing Banks. Total — 7 ships, 51 guns. Grand 
Total— 30 ships, 412 guns. 

The last Congress cut down the allowance of men to 
8,500. 

The following are the vessels at the various yards : 

AT THE PORTSMOUTH (n. H.) YARD. 

The corvette California, second rate, 2,400 tons, and car- 
rying 21 guns, flag-ship of the Asiatic squadron. The 
sloop JN'arraganset, 566 tons, 5 guns. The Wyoming, 726 
tons, 6 guns. 

AT THE BOSTON NAVY YARD. 

The frigate Wabash, 3,000 tons, 46 guns, one of the 
finest ships afloat; the corvette Shenandoah, 929 tons, 
10 guns. The Worcester, a new ship of the second rate, 
2,000 tons, and armed with 15 guns of heavy caliber. The 
corvette Ticonderoga, 1,019 tons, third rate, and carrying 
a splendid battery of 10 guns. The famous old frigate JN i- 
agara, 2,958 tons, 12 guns. 



164 FEANCO-PEUSSIAIT WAR. 

AT THE BEOOKLTN TAKD. 

The Tennessee, formerly the Madawasca, has been greatly 
altered. She rates second, is 2,135 tons burden, and carries 
a battery of 23 heavy gnns. The Guerriere, second rate, 
2,490 tons, 21 gnns ; frigate Minnesota, 3,000 tons, 46 guns; 
Canandaigua, third rate, 955 tons, 10 guns ; Saratoga, sail- 
ing sloop, third rate, 757 tons, 15 guns; Monongahela, 
third rate, 960 tons, 10 guns ; corvette Albany, second rate, 
2,000 tons, 15 guns; corvette Wachusett, third rate,- 695 
tons, 6 guns ; Hartford, second rate, 2,000 tons, 18 guns. 

PHILADELPHIA YARD. 

The sloop Brooklyn, second rate, 2,000 tons, 20 guns. 
A light spar deck has been added to her. The Iroquois, 
third rate, 695 tons, 6 guns. 

AT THE WASHINGTON YARD. 

The Kansas, fourth rate, 410 tons, 3 guns, and at ISTorfolk, 
the Galena, fourth rate, 514 tons, 7 guns, and the Saco, 
fourth rate, 410 tons, 3 guns, are repairing. There are a 
number of other large ships at the various yards on the 
stocks. 

NAVAL FORCE AT DISPOSAL. 

The E'avy Department could, on an emergency, place 
twenty-two additional ships at sea, carrying 267 guns of 
the average caliber. These added, would give us sixty-one 
cruisers, carrying a grand total of 725 guns, requiring 
10,000 additional seamen. 

The above is a clear resume of our exact strength afloat, 
and at the various yards. 



IMPOETS AND EXPORTS. 165 



OUE IMPOETS AND EXPORTS TO GEEMANY AND 
FEANGE. 

The Extent of our Commercial Interest in the War. 

GEKMANT. 

The statistics contained in the following statements sup- 
ply information which must prove of the highest interest 
by showing the extent to which our commerce will be in- 
terrupted if the Franco-Prussian conflict continues and the 
German ports are blockaded. 

Our imports from the states in the Zollverein, which 
embraces nearly all Germany, for the fiscal year ending 
June 80, 1868, amounted to $21,569,988, and were received 
from the following states, in the quantities given : — 

Imports to United States. 

Prussia $11, 586,576 

Saxony 5,660,384 

Bavaria 1,897,314 

Other Grerman States 2,425,714 

$21,569,988 

These imports were in the following quantities through 
the ports of countries named : — 

England $4,803,631 

Bremen 10,243,934 

Hamburg 4,876,220 

France 170,248 

Belgium 1, 103,256 

Holland 396,151 

Not specified 6,498 

$21,569,988 

The principal items in these imports are given in the 
following table :— 



166 



FRAISrCO-PRUSSIAI^ WAR. 



Books $239,201 

Bristles 171,584 

Buttons 289,757 

Analine 52,418 

Cotton Hosiery 2,522,232 

Laces 684,202 

Cotton sundries 110,223 

Clothing 815,090 

Embroideries 146,298 

Beads 374,890 

Pipes 101,778 

Toys 216,156 

Dolls 126,614 

Purs, undressed 146,553 

" dressed 410,323 

" hatters' 342,686 

Glass 377,531 

Hops 333,696 

Iron manufacture 68,710 

Penknives 133,326 

General cutlery 75,432 

Steel sundries 235,815 

Pig lead 546,046 



Calfskins, tanned. $323,078 

Skins tan'd, all upper leather 107,610 

Gloves 177,390 

Musical instruments 272,326 

Paintings 167,450 

Writing paper 89,745 

Paper sundries 125,350 

Pencils 104,066 

Velvets 596, 155 

Ribbons 636,458 

Dress and piece goods. . . . 276,256 

Silk 713,707 

Spirits and wines 421,656 

Willow- ware 125,863 

Cloths 3,342,612 

Woolen sundries 43, 624 

Shawls 60,560 

Hosiery 1 34,953 

Woolen and worsted goods 325,383 

Worsted sundries 164,891 

Women's dress goods 851,127 

Webbing 653,555 

Zinc 100,583 



Our exports to Germany during tlie fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1869, amounted to $39,427,403 (including gold), 
and appear in the official returns as having been divided 
as follows : — 



Prussia $ 949,138 

Hamburg 15,1 90,798 

Bremen 23,287,467 

$39,427,403 



Cotton, lard, petroleum, and tobacco are the chief prod- 
ucts we sell to Germany ; but as there is a large direct 
trade in these and other commodities transacted through 
the English markets, the figures below do not represent the 
full extent to which we find purchasers in Germany for 
our productions. 

The following table gives the principal value of the 
products, agricultural and manufactures, we transport to 
Germany : — 



IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 16' 

Hambiirg. Bremen. 

Bark $27,392 $24,180 

Indian corn 45,211 13,734 

Eye 224,260 268,971 

Copper, pig, etc 253,766 

Cotton 1,792,847 11,835,231 

Dyewoods 273,413 157,710 

Furs 177,689 68.904 

Gold bullion 1,623,469 39,200 

" coin 4,167,131 721,390 

Silver bullion 3,007,033 

" coin 248,934 ■ 

Hides 76,260 55,199 

Muskets and rifles 184,082 257,935 

General machinery 129,984 8,493 

Sewing Machines 377,006 

Eosin and turpentine 156,097 246,423 

Petroleum benzine 8,961 

» crude 29,677 113,378 

" refined 2,572,431 24,360 

Beef 138,745 1,059,678 

Lard 348,077 14,653 

Tallow 91,400 108,954 

Tobacco, manufactured 39,637 4,730,900 

" unmanufactured 269,194 132,726 

Whalebone 119,186 



The number of vessels, and their tonnage, which cleared 
for German ports in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, 
was as follows : — 

Am'n vessels. 

To Prussia 2 

Hamburg 3 

Bremen 24 

Total 29 34,286 379 427,606 

The number of vessels, and their tonnage, entered during 
the same time, was as follows : — 

Am'n vessels. Tons. For'gn vessels. Tons. 

Prussia — 2 834 

Hamburg — 97 165,888 

Bremen 16 30,971 187 242,324 



Tons. 


For'gn vessels. 


Tons. 


806 

1,894 

31,586 


42 

96 

241 


11,707 
144,842 
271,057 



Total 16 30,971 286 409,046 



168 FRANOO-PKUSSIAK WAR. 



FKANCE. 

Our exports to France during the fiscal year ending June 
SO, 1868, amounted to $45,945,864; of which $43,386,384 
was to Atlantic ports, and $2,559,480 to Mediterranean 
ports. 

Our imports from France amounted to $26,821,951 ; of 
which $23,444,815 was to the Atlantic, and $3,4T7,136 to 
Mediterranean ports. 

The tonnage was as follows: — 

Entered. Cleared. 

Am. tonnage. For. tonnage. Am. tonnage. For. tonnage. 
France on Atlantic. 64,923 U,678 114,513 73,523 

France on Medit'n.. 11,563 9,158 25,648 4,086 



Total 76,486 83,836 140,161 77,609 



I P - 

THE GREAT EUROPEAN CONFLICT. 



-♦-^-.♦♦-♦-*- 



FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR 



AND 



% llebitto 0f t|e ^alana 0f fer0|e. 



BY 



GEO. ^\^. BIBLE. 



— — ♦♦♦- 



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